The Power Of Love
by 1980s-popito
Summary: Raina 'Rain' Johnson now lives her days as Raina 'Rain' Mathews. She gets married and with time, starts a family with her husband.. but not without staying with her childhood family and friends that helped get her through everything to get to this point in her life. (sequel to "To Love A Greaser"/"Before the Love") (3 of 3)
1. June 30, 1970

…_June 30, 1970….._

"Marilyn, you look so beautiful," Sandy smiled and hugged her cousin.

Marilyn gave a weak smile and hugged back, then walked over to the long mirror. "I can't believe I'm getting married," she smiled nervously.

Evie hugged her shoulders from the side and chuckled, "Well believe it cause pretty soon, you're gonna be Mrs. Darry Curtis." We all laughed at her comment.

There was a knock on the door and we all turned. "Are you all decent?" Sodapop asked, walking in with his hand over his eyes. We all laughed again at his approach. He peeked through his fingers and when he saw we were all dressed, he took his hand off of his eyes. Candy walked over to him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead and she wrapped her arms around his torso. "You lovely ladies all ready?" he smiled at us all. The rest of us nodded then looked to Marilyn. She shut her eyes for a second, took a deep breath, opened her eyes and nodded with a small smile on her face. He nodded and walked out, the rest of us walking out to go to the small lobby area of the community church.

We got out and all started to get ready. I walked over to Two-Bit, who smiled when he saw me. "You look good in a tux," I smiled and pecked his lips.

His hands reached my waist. "And you look beautiful in a dress," he smiled.

Someone behind us cleared their throat. We turned and it was Steve. "If you two don't mind too much, we kinda got a wedding to do," he said.

Two-Bit and I shared annoyed looks then got in line for the wedding to start. I leaned out to the side and saw Darry standing at the front waiting in his tux. He chose Danny as his best man, and Marilyn chose Sandy as her maid of honor, so they were in the beginning and good a better look to see what Darry was doing. After them, it was Sodapop and Candy, then Ponyboy and Cherry, Two-Bit and me, then Steve and Evie right in front of Marilyn. "Ready?" I heard Ponyboy call a bit, but not too loudly, to his oldest brother. I saw Darry nod and smile. Cherry turned and did the same for Marilyn, who did the same thing. The music started and we slowly made our way forward.

…_end of ceremony_…

We all clapped as we saw Darry cup Marilyn's chin and she wrapped her arms around his neck. I saw a flash from some camera as the two now were a married couple.

"I never thought I'd see the day when my big brother got married," Soda said as we all walked out the church.

"I said this when we met her, and I'll say it now… Superman found his Lois Lane," Steve shrugged and we all laughed.

"I remember when we first met her," I smiled, "Did any y'all notice that she was like a mother to us all as we got used to her?"

Everyone nodded. "She accepted me quicker than the rest of you," Cherry laughed, now that we could laugh about that.

She was right. When Cherry and Ponyboy started going out a little after Two-Bit and me got married, everyone else couldn't really bring themselves to accept her- except Marilyn. I remember Cherry was telling me she felt terrible about things that happened in the past between us all and other Socs, and she felt like everyone hated her cause of things that happened. Marilyn was there when she was telling me and she sat there with Cherry for an hour talking with her and comforting her. She was able to get it to Cherry that none of that was her fault and that it had nothing to do with her, and that she had no reason to feel bad, and that she would talk to everyone. I remember when she had that conversation with everyone else, and it had worked. From that point on, Cherry was fully accepted by the rest of us all.

We all went to a small reception at the apartment that the two had moved into, which was the building next to where Danny and Sandy lived with their bookstore. The people who else was there was Danny, Sandy, Sodapop, Candy, Ponyboy, Cherry, Steve, Evie, Two-Bit and me. Lucky for us, there was just enough room for all of us comfortably at one time.

"I think I understand any nerves you had last year, Rain," Marilyn chuckled a bit, "Don't get me wrong, I'm overjoyed that I married Darry, but weddings are just nerve-wracking. Ya know?"

I laughed and nodded, "Trust me, Marilyn, I get what you mean. But getting past those nerves, it's completely worth it in the end, and you wouldn't wanna change any of it."

"Which of us is next, you think?" Evie asked.

I smirked a bit and looked at Candy. "Well… Candy caught the bouquet."

Candy bit her lip trying to hide a smile and her cheeks got bright pink. "I don't know about that, but-"

"We're just goin' by history," I shrugged innocently, "I mean, I don't believe in none of that stuff, but I caught Sandy's and I got married next. Then Marilyn caught mine and she got married. Maybe you're next."

Candy shrugged again and glanced at Soda from across the room then back at us. "I don't know. I mean, do I love him? Yeah, with all my heart. Do I wanna marry him? Of course I do. But I wanna make sure both of us are ready before he ever proposes."

"Well, are you ready?" Cherry asked.

Candy shrugged. "I'll find out when I'm ready when he pops the question."

We all left the apartment a couple hours later. Candy and Evie both starting sharing an apartment and became roommates when Evie started classes at the University of Tulsa. By some chance of luck, me and Candy got accepted there like Evie had. And apparently, Cherry had started there the same year as Evie, but none of us knew cause they didn't really know Cherry yet at that time. We didn't find out till me and Candy started going there since I was friends with Cherry before I met them. And now, Cherry was packing to move in with them in their apartment at the edge of town.

Evie and Candy had hoped to have me move in like Cherry, but I got married. Evie would always tease me about not being able to move in with them. "Excuse me then for deciding to get married," I would always say, followed by laughing.

Two-Bit and I got back to the small house we had, which was a block away from the Curtis' leaning more to the center of town, at about eleven at night after the reception. We had moved in to the house about six months after getting married, by then we had enough to get small mortgage on the house, but his army career would be able to help pay for it since he was a soldier. "That was a nice wedding, don't ya think?" I asked as we changed to get to sleep.

I saw him nod. "It actually was, but ours was better," he smirked.

I laughed and sat down on the bed. "I knew you would say that."

"What? You don't agree with me?"

I smirked this time. "Did I say I didn't?"

He sat across from me and kissed me. We both leaned back against the headboard of the bed then lied down to go to sleep. "Oh yeah," he said after he turned off his bedside table lamp, "I have some really good news I had to tell you."

I turned to face him. "What is it?"

"Next year, I don't have to go back to Vietnam. The draft is over." I saw him smile at me.

I let out a gasp and covered my mouth with my hand in disbelief. "Are you serious?" I nearly yelled, smiled and leaned my other arm on my pillow. He nodded. I quickly pulled his face to me and pressed my lips against his. I smiled when I pulled back, "That's great. You don't have to go back anymore."

He nodded and pushed a strand of my hair behind my ear. "Yeah it is, now I don't have to leave you." A smiled found its way to my face and we went to sleep.

**Oh my gahd this is the first one shot of this story oh my gahd. If it's not like other one-shots, I apologize, it's cause I never wrote a one-short, so I'm just gonna call the chapter for this "short stories throughout their lives"**

**I'm still deciding if I'm gonna out this on wattpad. I'll probably mention it next time I update "Before the Love", then put it there.**

**Each short story for this will be different lengths, depending what point in their life they are at.**

**Anyway, I hope you like this story, peace from all the hippies of the world! =^-^=**


	2. June 22, 1971

…_June 22, 1971…_

"Hello?" I said, answering the ringing phone.

"Rain? It's- it's Candy," the voice on the other end said, but sounding not as happy as Candy always was.

"Candy? Are you alright? You sound like you're crying."

"That's cause I am crying!... look, can I uh, can I come over to talk to you about something?"

I nodded, "Yeah of course." Then she hung up.

Candy got to the house about five minutes later. To be honest, she looked terrible. Her hair was sloppy, she had pajama pants and a t-shirt on and her eyes were puffy. She usually wore a little makeup, not too much but just a little bit, but right now she had none on.

When I opened the door, she threw herself at me and cried into my shoulder. I hugged her back in attempt at comfort, "Candy, what's wrong?" My voice was quiet.

She let go and looked back at me. "Soda got drafted," she choked out.

I covered my mouth with my hand and I frowned. I pulled her inside, closed the door and hugged her again. "Candy, I'm so sorry."

"Rain, who was-" I heard Two-Bit start coming from the other room. He stopped midway and gave a confused look, "What happened?"

I looked at Candy then back at him. "Soda got drafted to go to Vietnam."

We brought Candy to the kitchen and sat down at the small kitchen table we had. In the past whenever Candy had come to me upset, I would always make hot chocolate. IF it was hot outside, then I would put it in the fridge for a little while. She told me that when she was little and upset, or even when she got older and was upset about something, she would go talk with her grandmother- who she was very close with- and she would make hot chocolate and talk with her until she calmed down. When her grandmother died when Candy was eighteen, I took over that position, considering Candy was my best friend, and I hated seeing her upset.

"Has he told Ponyboy or Darry yet?" Two-Bit asked her.

I took the mugs from the fridge, since it was warm outside, placed them on the table and sat down with them. She took one and shook her head. "No… he said he didn't wanna worry them too much with what's going on, not yet anyway. With Darry and Marilyn, them just finding out she's pregnant last month. Ponyboy away at college…" she trailed off.

"Candy, you need to tell him that he _needs_ to tell them. I mean, they're his brothers! He needs to tell them… when'd he get the letter?" I asked.

"Five days ago."

"And when does he leave?"

"In three weeks."

"Candy, he has to tell them," Two-Bit said, "Trust us on this one." The phone rang from the other room. "I got it." He got up from his seat and went to answer the phone.

"Rain, I don't know what to do… I mean, I… I can't do this. I can't be _here_, with him over _there_."

"Candy," I started, "I need you to listen to me… I know exactly how you're feeling right now. When Two-Bit told me he was drafted a few years back, I felt like my whole world fell apart, ok? But remember how you, Suzie, Marilyn and Evie told me to talk to him about it? And it helped?" She nodded. "You need to talk to Sodapop like I did."

Before she could say anything, Two-Bit stood behind my chair and leaned down to me. "That was Soda… he was wondering if we knew where Candy was and he wants to talk to me 'bout something real important, he said. I'll be back soon," he whispered, kissed the side of my forehead and left.

I spent about two and a half hours talking with Candy once he left. During the first thirty minutes, I had called Marilyn, Evie, Cherry and Sandy to come over as well. Evie and Marilyn had more experience in comforting in this situation, trying to calm down a friend who had a boyfriend who got one of those terrible letters. So I figured they would be a help; yet they both said I would be better at helping her with this, considering I had gone through it.

Two-Bit got back not long after we all finished talking with Candy. I had let Candy take a shower once she calmed down and then she could change into some of my clothes. While she was in the shower, he started to tell me what him and Soda talked aout.

"Poor guy is scared to death," he sighed, sitting down next to me on the couch.

I let out a sigh of my own, "Well, that's expected right? Remember how scared and worried we were?"

He nodded. "It took me a while just to tell you."

"And remember how it helped us when we talked about it that night?"

He nodded again. "I told Soda he has to do that with Candy, and to tell his brothers. He said he told Steve 'bout it, but just them two and us… he has to tell Darry and Ponyboy, they're his brothers."

"Well… Marilyn, Evie and Cherry know cause me and Candy called them before."

The phone kept ringing for the rest of the day. We were going in and out of the house the rest of the day too. Candy was with me most of the day, Soda was with Two-Bit most of the day. Throughout the whole day, we did get things done. Soda called Pony at the University of Oklahoma to tell him- who, thankfully, was coming home for summer break in a week. He also told Darry, but in person, but he saw Darry try to conceal how he felt about it, obviously for his sake.

We all finally got back to where we all lived at about ten that night. We had offered for Candy to stay the night with us, but Evie and Cherry said they could take care of her or anything that happened if she got upset again about the whole draft. I was kinda hesitant to agree at first, but then I realized it might be better for them since they actually live all together.

"Today was tiring," Two-Bit said sitting down on the couch again.

I nodded and sat next to him, "Tell me about it." I leaned my head on his shoulder.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and let out a small sigh. "With everything that happened today… I need your thoughts on something."

I felt my body tense a little bit at what he said, tried to hide it and nodded. "Of course, what's goin' on?"

He looked down and sighed. "I uh… I think I'm gonna go back to Vietnam…"

I frowned and looked up at him. "What? But-"

"When I went," he cut me off, "I didn't know anyone. Sure, Suzie's brother was there, but I didn't really _know_ him like I know Soda. Andy Curly Shepard was in my unit for a while, but I tried to avoid him at all costs. But that's part of the reason I think I should go back with Soda, I don't want him to go through what I had to, in that sense, at least. Cause since we're both from the same town and area, there's a good chance that we'll be in the same unit… you saw him today and how scared he was, I've never seen him so scared and upset, except when Mr. and Mrs. Curtis died or when Ponyboy and Johnny ran away. That's it."

My heart did break when I saw Soda today, and I knew all of it what he just said was true. "You're right," I nodded and sighed.

"I'm sorry," he kissed my forehead.

"You're absolutely right about this, and I support you… we've done this before, what's another time, right?" I asked lightly, giving a small smile. He chuckled and I did the same. "But, you have to make me a promise," I said.

"What's that?"

"You'll come back to me, just like how you came back to me last time. Uninjured, no different… except for the uniform and hair."

He chuckled and nodded. "I promise."

I knew it was something he couldn't actually _promise_, but I just wanted that mindset that he could. He had done it once, he could do it again, and Soda would do the same for Candy, Ponyboy and Darry. And even his little niece or nephew with Darry and Marilyn. They'd be ok, they had to be. They survived everything else that had happened in the couple years, what's this one more thing?

**Oh my gahd, I made that too sad didn't I? I'm sorry! But this is just based off of the bonus chapters! No one kill me!**

**Ok, I decided I'm going to upload this to wattpad as well.**

**Also, if you're reading this story, you're probably currently reading Before the Love, so you probably saw what I have to say about other stories, if not, go to chapter 6 ( I think) of that one to see, so yeah, bye! Peace from all the hippies of the world! =^-^=**


	3. July 12, 1971

…_July 12, 1971…_

"You two, better come back to us the way you left and the only thing different about you guys is your hair and uniform," Candy said Soda as we all walked to the terminal.

"Please, please, _please_ be careful," I said to Two-Bit.

He cupped my chin and pressed his lips against mine. "I will, I promise," he said when he pulled back.

I gave a weak smile and pulled on the locket that had been around my neck since Christmas 1966, along now with another heart shaped locket next to it that was added and had pictures from August 30, 1969. "You'll be in my hearts," I chuckled, both lockets between my fingers.

He smiled back, kissed my forehead then turned to Soda, who was saying bye to his brothers. Soda turned and looked down as he walked to the terminal, Two-Bit behind him. They both turned to look toward us, each gave a weak smile, then turned back and disappeared from sight as the flight attendant shut the door to the terminal, leaving us all standing there with teary eyes and upside down smiles.

I looked over and saw a few different reactions from everyone. Marilyn held Darry's hand and laced her fingers with his and she leaned against his shoulder, he was doing his best not to show too much emotion for Ponyboy's sake. Cherry stood behind Ponyboy, her chin rested on the top of his shoulder, he held tight to her hand as well, trying not to show too much emotion like his oldest brother. Steve stood there with a blank expression trying to show no emotion like the other two, Evie hugged his arm, knowing that on the inside he was scared. Candy stood next to me, her hands stuffed under her arms and I saw a few tears run down her cheeks.

We all were affected in different ways by this, different relationships coming into play with our emotions. I knew the two brothers and the best friend were doing their best to hold in whatever tears they had, but I knew these guys almost all their lives, and they weren't fooling me or anyone else. Especially Darry.

Mrs. Mathews- who had asked me to call her Lisa, but I couldn't fully bring myself to- and Keilah stood a few feet away. Keilah, who was now fifteen, hugged her mother tight, just like January 3, 1967. Unfortunately, Keilah had a pretty good understanding of the war and everything going on, and she was devastated that her brother and the closest person who was like a father to her would be gone until December.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and saw Mrs. Mathews with a weak smile. "Remember what I said a few years back?" she asked.

I nodded, "Yeah…"

"It still applies." She hugged me, then left with Keilah.

We all left the airport after that, and no one really said anything. There wasn't really anything _to_ say, not that I could think of. The two who made us laugh most, wouldn't be there to make us laugh till Christmas, and that really messed us all up.

I still played around with the two heart necklaces on the chain. Ever since two-Bit mentioned about going back, I'd started the habit again. It never really did stop, it was just a nervous habit, but it had become a frequent thing again.

I had offered for Candy to stay with me, and this time no one protested. I guess they thought it'd be better considering our circumstances. It's like how Ponyboy would be staying with Darry and Marilyn for a little while, then go back to the house for a little while. Soda and Steve had been living there as roommates, but Evie would be there with Steve for a week, then Ponyboy would go there and Evie go back to where she lived with Candy and Cherry. This is how we were all dealing with this, and we all reacted different ways.

For me, it was more Two-Bit than Soda. Though technically, Soda introduced me to Two-Bit. But either way, I would miss them both the same till they came back in the beginning of December. Two-Bit was my husband, Soda was exactly like if he was my brother, and I met Soda first of any of them. I knew him the longest out of everyone.

Steve because they were best friends. When I met Soda when I was six, Steve was right there with him. As far as I knew, it's like they've been best friends since they were babies almost. I knew Steve tried to show no emotion when the two went down into the terminal, but apparently, Steve was more than willing to enlist to go to Vietnam just so he wouldn't have to be separated from his best friend for a while.

Darry and Ponyboy don't even really need an explanation. They were brothers. They were blood-related. Sure, we were all like a really big family, but like I said, they were the three of who were blood. They knew each other better than anyone else in the whole world. Those boys were the closest of any family with more than one kid that I'd ever seen, ever before that car wreck years ago. Up to a certain point, they were the only family they had, and that brought them closer.

Candy was his girlfriend. They really did love each other, you didn't have to be a rocket scientist to figure it out. Soda had once told me that he loved Candy, even more than when he _thought_ that he loved Sandy. And Candy told me once that she never cared about any past ex-boyfriend that she had before as much as she had cared about Soda.

"If some hippie comes up to me asking if I wanna join their protest, I'm seriously gonna kill them," Candy said as the two of us walked.

I couldn't help but laugh and she did the same. "Well, I may have to join you in that," I laughed.

I understood where she was coming from with that and agreed with her one-hundred percent. As the Vietnam war progressed, more protestors of the war started to come out the wood works. They would hold up signs in protest of the war, they would travel all over the country, they would be on the sidewalks and on street corners. They were everywhere. I get that they didn't like the war, I didn't either, no one did, but some of the things they did really offended me.

One time I was literally about to kill a hippie. I was walking with Two-Bit and he had his uniform on cause we were going to some dinner that one of his head officers was having and he was in Oklahoma City. We were walking and these hippies started throwing things at him, calling him "baby-killer", and saying that was he was doing was terrible. He had to hold me back cause I was ready to jump on them and kill them.

"Rain?" Candy said and pulled something out her pocket.

I looked at her. "Yeah?"

She unfolded the paper and smiled a bit. "Soda wrote me a note."

I chuckled, remembering when that happened to me. "Where have I seen that before…" We continued walking after she read the note, and we went to the stationary store.

"Why are we here?" Candy asked as we walked in.

"You're gonna need a lot of paper and envelopes up till Christmas hits."

**This chapter was kinda sad, I'm sorry! I'm not even fully happy with this chapter/one-shot of the story, but it's all I could think of. I'm trying to figure out what date to start the next chapter:**

**Christmas Eve, 1971**

**Chistmas Day, 1971**

**New Year's Eve, 1971**

**or New Year's Day, 1972**

**maybe you guys could comment or something about it? :) that would be great if you did :3**

**anyway, bye! =^-^=**


	4. December 24, 1971

…_December 24, 1971…_

"So you were sick yesterday morning and this morning?" Candy asked while we washed the dishes.

I nodded, "Yeah, but then I felt perfectly fine right when noon hit."

Before she could answer, Marilyn poked her head into the kitchen. "Can I do _anything_ to help? I mean, you guys are the guests," she said.

Candy pointed to the chair placed at the small kitchen table. "Yeah, you can sit down, or we'll get Darry to make you sit down, that's how you can help."

She gave a pleading look. "Please let me help."

"When you sit down, we'll give you something to do." I shrugged.

She sighed a bit and saw down in one of the chairs. "Happy now?" Candy and I smiled and nodded. Marilyn smiled, "Ok... what can I help with and what're you two talking about?"

"As we wash the dishes you can dry them and stack them on the table." Candy handed her a plate and a small dry towel. "And we were talking about how apparently, yesterday morning and this morning, Rain got sick."

Marilyn took both of what was handed to her, started drying the plate and gave a confused look. "What do you mean _got sick_?"

"Well, I was nauseous and I had to run to the bathroom, but by noon, I was perfectly fine," I answered.

"Do you know what's wrong?"

I shook my head. "Not a clue… but if it keeps happening, I'm goin' straight to a doctor."

The three of us form that point talked in the kitchen till nearly ten, Evie and Cherry joining us around when it was nine. Then after a while we all moved to the living room where the guys were. When all of us were in there, it reminded me of when we were all teenagers and we would just sit around and talk about whatever the hell we felt like talking about. Except now our conversations were a bit more mature from when we were seventeen, but that was expected.

While we sat there, it kinda made me sad for a moment cause of what it reminded me of. We weren't teenagers anymore, we were all legal adults- we were either in, almost done with, or out of college. It was kinda scary to think about and for a few reasons. One was that it all went by so fast that it left me wondering, _"Where did the time go?"_ Another reason was that I was afraid we were all gonna spread out as time went on and we wouldn't see each other as much anymore, that scared me. I decided to just shake it off and enjoy whatever conversation was going on and enjoy our time together.

After a while, Marilyn decided she was gonna go to bed. I thought it was pretty late for her, considering the time she had been going to sleep lately. Since about July, she was getting tired earlier than she originally had been. But that was expected, I mean, she was pregnant. Now I didn't know much about that stuff, but she told us it wasn't an unusual thing… but she didn't leave out how it could be annoying at times.

For the last month now, Darry had been pretty jumpy. I mean considering the situation, it was pretty understandable- but not really good for Marilyn.

As the night progressed on, Evie, Candy, Cherry and me all ended up back in the kitchen talking like we were before. I always thought that was some cliché, that the woman always ended up in the kitchen one way or another, and I still thought it was, but I never expected that I would be part of that cliché- not that I didn't enjoy talking about certain things that the guys wouldn't understand and probably didn't wanna hear anyway.

"So when are Sandy and Danny coming back?" Evie asked.

"Either New Year's Eve or when the New Year starts," I answered, "But they'll probably have the worst jet lag ever."

"I wonder what it's like in Australia," Candy started to fantasize with a smile on her face.

"It's beautiful," we heard someone say. We all turned and saw Marilyn then sit at the table.

"I thought you went to sleep?" Cherry questioned.

Marilyn nodded. "I did, but then I woke up and couldn't fall back asleep and I knew you all would still be here, so I came to join you all."

"But you've been to Australia before?" Candy's voice was full of hope.

Marilyn nodded again and chuckled. "Yeah. Before Sandy moved to California, my family would go visit her family there every other year in the summer."

"Have y'all gone back since?" I leaned against the counter.

She shrugged a little. "Once or twice since she moved here to America both our families went together, but otherwise we haven't gone back since."

"Do you want to?" Evie asked and sat across from her.

"I don't know…"

"Oh come on," Candy's shoulders fell along with her facial expression, "Out of all of us, you and Darry deserve to get away the most. I mean, you two basically were our parents when the rest of us were teenagers, and you were twenty then and now that we're all adults- you two need a break."

"You know it's not that easy, Candy. I mean, a trip across the world ain't too cheap ya know."

"Well it doesn't have to be across the world. It can be across the state, across the country, across the street even! Either way, you two need to take some sort of trip."

"I don't know… how 'bout if I promise you I'll talk to him about him and whatever happens, happens- ok?"

Candy nodded. "That's more like it."

We kept talking about trips after that, past ones that we've taken or ones that we all want to take. At one point we started to talk about an idea we had back in '68… our idea was that me, Evie, Marilyn, Candy, and at the time Suzie would go on a trip. Also that Two-Bit, Steve, Darry, Soda and Ponyboy would go on a trip. Two separate trips: one for the guys and one for us girls, but at the same time. None of us had actually established when or where the trips would be, our only idea for that was that it would take place after the war was over so we wouldn't have to stress over anything.

We finally decided to go to sleep at about two in the morning. It was settled that we would all be staying over. The rest of us tried to protest and say that it was fine for us all if we just went home, but both Darry and Marilyn wouldn't have it. "It's Christmas Eve at two in the morning, most likely people are drunk cause that's what people do at these parties… I'm not taking any chances with that," Darry sighed a little.

Marilyn gave him a sad look, probably getting an idea where he got that from just like we all were. We decided just to cave and stay over. We've never argued with the two in the past, why start now?

They did have one request though. We couldn't do anything that we wouldn't wanna be caught doing- which I was fine with. Not to sound rude or gross or nothin', but I was fine with it cause Steve and Evie… I mean, that whole scare they had in high school and just… you can see where I'm going with this right? Good? Good.

The sleeping arrangements were shockingly arranged for us all to fit comfortably. Obviously, Darry and Marilyn would be in their room. The guest room is where Steve and Evie would be. The room set up for their baby is where Ponyboy and Cherry would stay. Soda and Candy would be in the living cause the couch was a pull out. Two-Bit and I would be in the small office they had set up to help with the Zuko's book shop.

"Well tonight was fun," I said and started to get settled in the office.

Two-Bit nodded, "Yeah… um, can I admit something?"

I nodded. "Of course, what's going on?"

"Ok. I uh… I overheard some of your conversation with Marilyn and Candy before."

"Well which part?"

"The part that you said you got sick today and yesterday morning."

I nodded and looked down. "Oh…"

"Yeah… um, you ok?"

"Yeah I think so, I mean like I said, if it continues I'm going to the doctor."

"I'm just worried now about you."

I chuckled a bit. "You don't need to worry about anything, I'm fine ok? I promise… promise me you'll calm down."

He pouted a little bit but I could tell it was fake. "Fine," he grumbled to go along with his charade.

I teasingly swatted his arm. "You're unbearable."

"Yeah but you love me," he teased and grinned, and I couldn't help but laugh.

**I hate this chapter… I honestly hate this little chapter.**

**I got writer's block for the majority of it and writing when you have writer's block is just like "ok, whatever I can think of is going on this page and I don't care what happens" but then when it's done, you look over it and just sit there like "this is crap" but whatever.**

**OOH! Oh my gosh though- I went to a book sale in Nutley this weekend with my best friend Alex and her little brother Teven (well, his name is Steven but I call him Teven) and they had VHS tapes! I still have my VCR player and they had Jerry Maguire! XD I haven't seen that yet! They also had "Bringing Up Baby" and "Harvey" and I LOVE classic Hollywood, especially Katharine Hepburn :3 )**

**Anyway, yeah that's it… bye!**

**I can see a new horizon underneath the blazin' sky… I'll be where the eagle's flying higher and higher… Gonna be your man in motion, all I need is a pair of wheels… Take me where my future's lyin', St. Elmo's fire… I can climb the highest mountain, cross the wildest sea… I can feel St. Elmo's fire burnin' in me, burnin' in me!**

**(sorry, that song is playing on the radio as I type)**

**Peace from all the hippies of the world! =^-^=**


	5. January 3, 1972

…_January 3, 1972…_

I put the cup down on the kitchen counter and jogged to the front door. "I'm coming!" I yelled to the person knocking on the door a million times a minute. I finally got to the door and when I opened it, Steve and Evie stood there, Evie with her fist in the air proving that she was the one knocking on the door. "Evie, it's eight o'clock in the morning, do you really need to knock so hard?" I yawned.

She nodded quickly, "Today there is!"

"And why is that?" Two-Bit asked walking up behind me.

"Ok," Steve started, "Ya know how me and Soda have been living at the house?" We both nodded. "Well we just got a call form Darry, and him and Marilyn are at the hospital."

I gave a confused look. "Why are they there?"

Evie gave a slightly annoyed look. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe cause… Marilyn's having the baby!"

My eyes widened a little. "Right now?!"

She rolled her eyes… boy was she cranky in the morning. "No, yesterday… yes, right now! Soda and Ponyboy tod us to come and get you two."

The two of us nodded, changed out of what we had on for what we wore to bed into day clothes, then followed the two to Steve's car. "Wait, so where's Soda and Pony?" I asked as we got to the car.

"They're already there, mostly trying to keep their big brother calm… Candy and Cherry are there with 'em all too," Steve answered and started the car.

"And Danny and Sandy?" Two-Bit asked.

"With there with them."

It took about ten minutes to get there. Steve parked his car in the parking garage in the part closest to the building of the hospital they were in then we ran to the entrance. We told the receptionist the name, then went to the elevator to get to the room on the third floor.

When we go thtere, we saw everyone else like they said. Darry was leaning against the frame of the door chewing on his bottom lip and his eyes were fixed on the ground, along with a slight look of worry on his face. The rest were all engaged in their own conversations. I held in a chuckle when I saw the other two brohters in flannel pajama pants and t-shirts.

Candy and Sandy stood up form her seat and walked over to me and Evie, Cherry following behind as Steve and Two-Bit went to the others. "Hey, how ya doing today?" Candy asked.

I sighed a bit, "So far, fine but just wait, it's still early… how's Marilyn?"

"Better than Darry," Cherry answered.

"What do you mean?"

"Honestly," Sandy sighed a little, "Marilyn's in better shape than him right now, he's a nervous wreck."

"But that's expected," Evie shrugged.

"Then how was he when Sodapop and Ponyboy were born?"

"He most likely had no idea what was goin' on," I shrugged, "I mean, going by their ages, he probably doesn't even remember when Sodapop was born… and if he rememebers when Ponyboy was born, he was too young to get what was actually happening. He probably just knew that he was getting another little brother."

"Look, either way, it's expected, I mean… it's his first kid!" Evie threw her hands in the air.

The four continued talking. I had been talking with them but stopped when I felt something in the back of my throat. _"You've got to be kidding me,"_ I thought. I put my hand over my mouth and shut my eyes.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked and saw Sandy, "You ok, Rain?"

"I don't think so," I choked out.

"What's wrong?" Cherry asked, a worried expression on her face.

"I'll be right back." My voice was soft and I turned and nearly ran to the closest bathroom.

About five minutes later, I left the stall and went to the sink. I leaned my hands on the ocunter and hung my head down and shut my eyes for a moment. I opened them and looked to the side when I heard the bathroom door open. I looked back at the mirror and saw Cherry, Evie, Candy and Sandy walk up behind me. "Do you wanna sit outside?" Evie asked softly. I slowly nodded and we walked back out.

We went downstairs and sat on the bench right outside the entrance of the building. "Ya feeling any better now?" Cherry asked when we sat down.

I sighed, "I don't know."

"Ya know," Sandy started, "We're already here at the hospital, I think you should get checked out. See what's going on."

"What about the guys?"

"They have their hands full trying to keep Darry from freaking out," Evie chuckled.

I shrugged. "Fine, I'll do it."

The four nodded, got up and we went back inside. The only place really to go was the ER, so we did. I was shocked when it took on;y five minutes for my name to be called. When it was, I went to the room where they asked me about what was going on, them some small private examining room. After that, the did a whole thing of tests that felt like it lasted forever- but in reality lasted an hour.

"Anything?" Candy asked as we walked back to the room and hall where everyone else was.

"They said they're gonna have the results by this Thursday and they'll call me then," I answered.

Sandy spoke up, "Did the doctor seem worried?"

I shook my head. "She said she's had cases like this before and it always turned out to be fine and nothing to worry about, so she was convinced that I'd be one of those cases."

We got back to the room where Marilyn was and everyone was still in the hall except for Darry. The five of us gave confused looks and they all gave some sort of gesture that he was in the room with the door open by a tiny crack. Danny walked over and whispered something to Sandy and she smiled wide. She looked to us, "She had the baby." We all smiled and walked back over to where everyone was.

"Hey… you ok? I saw you run off before," Two-Bit asked when I got back to him.

"Uh… yeah, I'm fine," I answered.

He gave a look that made me know what he was going to say. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Yes, I'm positive… so she had the baby?"

Before he could answer, Darry slowly came out from the room. We all got quiet and looked at him and he gave a proud but soft smile, "There's someone we want you all to meet."

We all quietly and slowly followed him into the room. Marilyn was smiling at the little baby in her arms. "Everyone," Darry started and leaned over next to Marilyn and the baby, "Mett Mariah Rose Curtis."

Sodapop smiled and looked at Ponyboy, "We have a little niece, Pony." Ponyboy smiled and nodded.

"She's so beautiful," Sandy smiled at the two.

Marilyn chuckled. "She's got the Curtis family eyes."

"You named her after Mom," Ponyboy said with a smile to his oldest brother, who smiled back and nodded.

"That girl's gonna be a heartbreaker in the future," Danny told Darry with a chuckle.

Darry rolled his eyes a little and Marilyn chuckled again. "Not if I can help it," Darry teased.

**Awwwwwww how cute :3 **

**Ok, don't expect such a quick update for things all the time, I only did cause for some reason, I was able to write this chapter in my notebook in literally an hour. I've never done that before, why cant every story I write be like that? Whether fanfiction or not, it makes life so much easier and better!**

**Anyway, was thish chapter good? I hope so. Hope you liked it! Peace from all the hippies of the world! =^-^=**


	6. January 6, 1972

**Ponysgirlfriend- I finally did the plot you were asking about for a while in this story ever since I did the bonus chapters in "To Love A Greaser" :)**

…_January 6, 1972…_

I ran to the bookstore, even though I probably shouldn't have been running. But I still ran, not caring about the whole reason I was running, just for that moment, so I could go tell Candy. I got to the bookstore in five minutes. When I got there, Candy jumped when the bell hooked up the front door rang suddenly and loudly. She gave a confused look when I ran to the front counter where she was looking over a book. "Well you look happy," she chuckled.

I smiled and nodded, "Cause I am and trust me, nothing can ruin it."

She chuckled again. "Well? Ya gonna tell me why you're so happy or what?"

I tried to keep my voice quiet, but my smile was still there. "Cause I'm pregnant!"

Her jaw dropped then she smiled and hugged me. "Rain! Congratulations!... When did you find out?"

"OK, so remember how the other day I got checked out at the hospital?" She nodded. "Well they said they would call me with the results, and I just got the call before I came here."

"Have you told anyone else?"

"Told anyone else what?" Evie asked as her, Cherry, and Sandy came from the back office.

Candy smiled at me. "Rain… I believe you have some news?"

I chuckled. "I'm pregnant."

The three smiled, then the whole reaction that Candy had happened again, except with three people at once, and I couldn't help but laugh.

The rest of the day at the bookstore went almost like normal- with the exception that the four of them kept talking and asking how I was gonna tell Two-Bit, how long far along I was, and a whole bunch of other stuff. At one point, Sandy called Marilyn- who had to stay a week at the hospital- to tell her about how we found out I was pregnant, and her reaction was the same as the other four.

At one point during the day, Two-Bit had called the store asking how I was. Candy nearly yelled into the phone to tell him, but I stopped her by covering her mouth with my hand so I could say I was fine and answer any other questions he had. When I hung up, Candy glared at me a little for my actions. "I'm going to tell him… when you get married and you're pregnant, you can tell your husband," I shrugged.

After we closed the store for the night, we all decided to visit Marilyn. It took fifteen minutes to drive there. When we got up to her room, we weren't shocked to see Darry there with her. When we actually got to the room, they both stopped whatever conversation they were having and smiled and I gave a questioning look. "Marilyn told me," Darry chuckled.

"I'm sorry," Marilyn gave a small smile, "He asked what the call was about and I had to tell someone. He gave me a look."

"A look?" Evie asked.

Candy nodded, "Soda's told me about the look. He has this look that when you don't really wanna tell him something quite yet, he'll give you what Soda calls _"The Puppy Killer Look"_ cause it's stronger than any puppy dog face that anyone can give you."

"Ponyboy told me about it too," Cherry said.

Marilyn chuckled. "He gave me that look… C'mon Rain, you must've seen it before, you did live with those three before."

I nodded. "I think a few times… but either way, as long as no one told Two-Bit, we're ok."

"Then don't tell Steve or Soda yet," Evie said, "Cause if you tell one or the other, they'll tell the other and it'll get to him. Cause we all know what big mouths they have… no offense Candy or Darry." They both waved her off.

"What about Ponyboy?" Cherry asked.

Darry shook his head, "He'll tell Sodapop, who'll tell Steve and it'll get to Two-Bit."

"Ok… then it can't leave this room." I shrugged.

"This is one of those times that you all make me feel old." Darry had a slight smile on his face.

Marilyn gave him a confused look, "Why's that?"

He turned to her. "Well cause I basically raised them all when they were all in high school, and I guess sometimes forgot that the two of us aren't the only adults anymore." Sandy cleared her throat. He turned to her then back at Marilyn. "With the exception of Sandy and Danny."

"Ya just turned twenty-seven yesterday, since when is that old?" I asked.

Candy made a heart with her hands. "Either way, we still love you Darry, no matter how old ya get."

We all stayed talking for about another hour and a half. The whole time, Candy kept telling me to sit down and I kept giving her annoyed looks every time. I looked over at Marilyn, "Were we this bad?" She chuckled and nodded. "I sincerely apologize and give you complete control over what I do in the next nine months to do whatever I did to you to do to me." She laughed this time and couldn't help but laugh at what I just said, even though I was serious in giving her permission.

Cherry, Evie, Candy, Sandy and me all left and went over to the house where Two-Bit and me and lived. He wasn't home yet, so that either meant: he was getting ready to leave work, just leaving, or already on his way home. While we were all at my house, the four of them kept planning a whole bunch of stuff for both me and for Marilyn. They also kept telling me different ways I could tell Two-Bit. "Maybe ask your mother in law how she told him about Keilah when he was younger?" Evie suggested with a shrug.

I shook my head a bit and shrugged, "I dunno… I mean, they're just too different. Though it's probably easier telling a kid they're getting a baby brother or baby sister, than telling a husband about a baby in general."

"What about a baby?" I heard Two-Bit say and the front door close.

My eyes widened for a moment. "Little Mariah… we all went to go see the today." The four looked at me and silently scolded me and gave disappointed expressions while I just shrugged. "I panicked," I mouthed to them.

The four stayed over a little while longer. Every chance they got, they would scold me for not throwing them out to tell him or just telling him then and there. That was major flaw I had in my personality, I would prolong things as long as I could- and unfortunately, this was one of those times.

When the four left, Two-Bit and I ate dinner, except I was more hungry than usual. He obviously noticed and got a little confused cause he asked about it, but I lied and said that I didn't eat much during the day. He seemed to believe it, cause he kinda blew it off and we continued to talk about the day.

"Can we go out for a walk?" I asked while we washed dishes.

He nodded, "Of course." We both finished the dishes quickly then grabbed our coats then left to walk. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and kissed my forehead, "So what's up?"

I wrapped my arm around his torso, "This kinda seems outta the blue, but… how do ya feel about kids?"

He thought for a moment. "I like 'em, unless it's Keilah but she doesn't count," he chuckled, "Why?"

"Well, we never talked about it before during the three years we've been married so I figured we should."

"Do you want kids?"

I nodded. "Yeah… do you?"

"Yeah… I mean, I married you cause I wanted to start a family with you at some point. Plus, it'd feel pretty fulfilling to have my own kid instead of just being like a dad to Keilah."

I nodded. "Well that's good… cause I have something really important to tell you."

He stopped walking and gave ma confused look. "What?"

I bit down on my bottom lip." "I'm pregnant."

His eyes widened and a small smile started to form on his face. "You're… you're, uh… you're…"

I smiled and nodded. "Yes… exactly four weeks today."

"Rain!" he smiled, cupped my chin and pressed his lips against mine. He pulled back and smiled, "We're gonna be starting a family."

I smiled back. "Just to be clear… you're not mad, right?"

"Ok, I think being pregnant is making you think the most ridiculous things possible," he laughed, and I couldn't help but laugh with him.

**It finally happened… six chapters later and two stories later**

**That's literally all I have to say, that's weird but whatever… peace from all the hippies of the world! =^-^=**


	7. March 30, 1972

"I really don't think it's a good idea for me to go back right now," Two-Bit said unsurely.

I rolled my eyes, "It's just two months, then you'll be back here."

"But what if somethin' happens while I'm gone."

"Nothing's gonna happen. And if anything did happen, both Keilah and your mom'll be at the house… just make sure you write to us as soon as you get there."

"That goes for you too," I heard Candy say to Soda.

Two-Bit gave a slight look that was unsure. "You sure you'll be ok?"

I nodded and gave a small smile. "I'll be fine, now stop worrying."

"Fine," he showed a fake pout, "So is he gonna do it?"

"I think so," I shrugged.

After about five minutes, the two got their first call to go. Two-Bit leaned down to kiss me then turned and pat Soda on the shoulder, then the two turned and started toward the train. The rest of us started to move back a bit. Soda turned back around toward us and quickly ran back to Candy. "I forgot I had something to ask ya," he said to her.

She gave a slightly confused look, "What's up?"

He took a deep breath then got down on one knee. He let out a nervous chuckle. "Ok… Candy, it's no secret how much I love you. I know I have to go and that my draft ain't over for another two years, but when those two years are up- I wanna know that you'll be there with me." He took a ring out form his pocket and held it up to her. "Candice Ramos… will you marry me?"

"Oh my gosh," she whispered with a slight chuckle and then bit her lip, then nodded, "yes."

He smiled. "Yes?"

She nodded again and chuckle. "Yes, Soda. I'll marry you."

He took her left hand and started to slide the ring on her finger. "I know it's not fancy or nothin' but-"

"I love it."

He smiled again then stood up. He cupped her chin and kissed her and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Another call went out throughout the place. He pulled away, smiled at her and then left with Two-Bit, who now waved at me from the distance. We watched as the two disappeared from sight. Candy turned to us all with the biggest smile I'd ever seen on her face ever since I met her. "We told you so," Evie teased her.

We all left after that. Darry and Marilyn went home along with Danny and Sandy. Steve and Evie decided to go out. Cherry had to go home to work on some her classwork. Candy came over to where I lived, which is also where Mrs. Matthews and Keilah would be staying for a few months. "Do I have the right to say _I told you so_?" I asked Candy when we got to the house.

She chuckled and shook her head, "Let's see what happens with Evie and Cherry first."

"You're no fun." I stuck my tongue out at her but ended up laughing.

"How long have you and Soda been together?" Mrs. Mathews asked her.

She had basically become like the mother figure to all of us- even Darry and Marilyn. As we all got older, she started to help out with things. When Marilyn had stayed home to take care of Mariah, she filled in for her at the book store in what was her usual shift. Marilyn and Darry had also been talking to Mrs. Mathews a long before Mariah was born, and eventually just Darry about raising a young girl- not including me when was a teenager.

Sure, Candy and Evie and Cherry had their own moms. But lately it seemed that they had gone to Mrs. Mathews more often. She had insisted of us calling her Lisa- and to me, even Mom- cause she thought "Mrs. Mathews" was too formal. She was even joking around with me once saying that it was weird sometimes now that there were two Mrs. Mathews.

"Since I was a sophomore in high school," Candy answered, "Every girl in town wanted to go out with him."

"But thanks to Evie, being the girlfriend of pretty-boy's best friend has its perks," I teased and laughed.

Candy stuck her tongue out at me then laughed. "When did you two first meet?" Keilah asked.

Candy turned to Keilah. "Well we met _officially_ on our first date. But before that, I would see him walkin' around town or somethin', but that was when he still had his old girlfriend."

"Nearly every girl in town liked him." I gave a slight shrug.

"You didn't?"

I shook my head. "Only like a brother."

"Cause you like my brother, right?" Keilah smirked.

That sent all of us ito a fit of laughter. Yes it was true, you didn't have to be a rocket scientist to know that- but I don't think I actually ever heard someone say it out loud. I wasn't offended or nothing, but I did feel my cheeks get pink.

Candy eventually left to go back to where she lived with Cherry and Evie. Her and Cherry- if I'm right- were working on something for their college classes. Mrs. Mathews- since her and Keilah were staying with me- had gone back to their house to get a few more things that they needed from the house, so Keilah was with me at the house.

"Hey Rain?" Keilah said getting my attention.

I turned to her, "Yeah, Keilah?"

"Um… can I talk to you about somethin'?"

"Of course." We walked to the kitchen table and sat down. "What's goin' on?"

She played with her fingers for a moment. "Ok, um… there's this guy…"

"Do you like someone?" I smiled. The pink that started in her cheeks answered my question. "What's his name?"

"Daniel… he's got dark hair and blue eyes."

"Have you talked to him before?"

She nodded. "He's actually one of my best friends."

"Oh, one of _those_ crushes," I nodded and chuckled, "I know how those go."

I spent an hour sitting there with Keilah, telling her what it's like when you got out with someone who's one of your best friends. I explained that it does make some things easier to some extent, considering you already knew the majority of their personality along with whatever else you knew about them. But also the fear that if you break up, there's the fear you two won't be friends anymore.

To help her, I even told her about how it was when her brother and I were going out. I also explained that not every relationship from teenage years ended up in marriage like mine and Two-Bit's, but that there was always that possibility. Also how relationships can be hard, even when people break up, but that every relationship someone went through, it would help them with the next until they got married.

I randomly let out a chuckle, "I can't believe it."

Keilah gave a questioning look, "Can't believe what?"

"Nearly five years ago, I was explaining love to you when you asked if I loved your brother. You remember that?" She smiled and nodded. "And now we're here, and I'm possibly helping you with your first relationship."

**I'm not happy with this fully but I don't know why. It seems like something's missing but I'm not sure what, but whatever.**

**Anyway, hope **_**you**_** guys liked this chapter! Peace from all the hippies of the world! =^-^=**


	8. June 1, 1972

_**June 1, 1972**_

"I think the train is running late," I sighed.

Candy crossed her arms over her chest. "I think so too," she nodded, "You doin' ok?"

I nodded. "Tired, but that's not unusual lately." I let out a light chuckle and so did Candy.

The two of us sat on a bench leaning against the station. Ponyboy would've been there to greet his brother, and Cherry with him, but they still were away at school. Steve and Evie were inside the station. Darry and Marilyn would've been there, but Mariah had a cold.

Cherry and Ponyboy now both went to the University of Oklahoma. Cherry had already gotten her bachelor's degree, but she wanted to go higher cause she wanted to be a pediatric doctor, but she couldn't go there right away due to money issues. She had to wait a while before she was able to work out everything with the money and everything else involved to get at least a little bit of a scholarship. She did manage to get one, it wasn't very big, but it was enough that her family could afford to pay the rest of within a few years.

"Ok, so we asked one of the workers why the train is late," Evie said as her and Steve came out from the station toward me and Candy.

"The train got pushed back an hour cause of the train before theirs," Steve explained.

"That explains the past twenty minutes," Candy huffed.

Evie nodded. "And they said inside that the train would be an hour to an hour and a half late cause of it."

Candy and I both exchanged annoyed looks. "So we have to wait here for at least another hour?" I asked.

Steve nodded. Candy sighed, "Well this sucks."

The four of us went inside after that to kill some time. I went to the payphone along with Candy to make some calls- to Darry and Marilyn, Mrs. Mathews and Keilah- saying their train was late, so the two would be getting there later than any of us planned. From the reaction from the four, they were annoyed by it.

Would you be happy if it happened to you?

Steve and Evie left a little while after. They both agreed that since the trains were delayed that as soon as they got there, it should just be us there for them. I didn't quite understand their logic, but I decided it would be easier to smile and nod to the two. From what I could tell from Candy, she had the same idea as I did to just smile and nod as the two walked off and away from the station.

Like we were told, the train came an hour and a half later than it was supposed to. Steve and Evie were long gone by them, so it was still just me and Candy there waiting for the two. When the train stopped, the two of us got up from the bench we were sitting on and walked to the edge of the platform, or at least as far as we were allowed to go behind a line.

The train came to a full stop and the doors on each car slid open. Candy and I knew that the two would walk out from the same car at the same time, we just didn't know which car of the long train it would be from. It was a long train with what looked to be about twenty different cars attached. It also didn't help that everyone got out of the train nearly all at one time. With everyone coming out all at once, it made it even harder to find them- not to mention me and Candy were pretty short so that didn't help at all either.

Till we heard two people yelling, "_Rain!" _and _"Candy!"_

The two of us turned in the direction of the two familiar voices and saw Two-Bit and Soda close to running to us. We me them halfway and had a very cliché movie scene: a kiss and hugging each other tight. Yes, like I said, cliché- but those types of things were based off of real life events or things that happen in everyday life or experiences… right?

"You two seem happier than usual when you get back," Candy smiled.

I smiled and nodded in agreement, "Yeah, what's goin' on?"

Two-Bit handed us a folded up a piece of paper. His smile was still in place right along with Soda who said, "Read it, but not out loud." I looked at Candy, who shrugged, then unfolded the paper. Candy leaned over to read it too:

_We can't tell anyone else this but our commanding officer let us tell you two. He heard that next year both sides of Vietnam and the United States are gonna be signing a cease fire. He said he may be wrong but he heard that from his own commander by accident. But cause of it he let our whole unit go on leave for a long time, depending on the cease fire._

Candy and I both looked at the two of them with curious expressions. Two-Bit and Soda just smiled and nodded as our answers. "This is so great!" Candy yelled and hugged Soda, while I did the same to Two-Bit.

Once we all left, Soda and Candy went to go see Darry and Marilyn since he was back while Two-Bit and I went back to our house. At first he couldn't get over how I had gotten since when he first left. Lucky for him, Evie made me take a picture every week while he was gone so it was like he didn't miss a thing. I wasn't too fond of the idea but unfortunately, I gave everything consent to do what we all did to her to me- and she approved of Evie's idea. I was outnumbered.

"So are you gonna continue with it till the end?" Two-Bit teased when he finished looking at the printed pictures.

I couldn't help but let out a chuckle, "How 'bout once every month instead of once every week?"

He chuckled and nodded. "That's a deal."

"Good… so how exactly did your commanding officer find out about the cease fire?" My voice was quiet even though we were in the house.

"Well first, he's got lots of connections. Then one day he was in the offices and he overheard it from the next room. Not much has been goin' on anyway, so he told us we didn't have to go back unless he called us or somethin'."

"Is it just you and Soda that know? Or the other guys in your unit know too?"

"A few other guys there know, but not all of 'em. I asked if I could at least tell you, and Soda did the same for Candy and he said yeah, as long as it was just you two and that you two don't tell no one else, alright?" I nodded and he did the same.

I asked if we could go for a walk after that and he agreed. I don't really know why, but both Marilyn and Mrs. Mathews said it would be good. I had actually gotten pretty fond of walking in the last few months. Candy would always walk with me, and sometimes Mrs. Mathews and Keilah would come too. Marilyn said she would eventually, when Darry wasn't so nervous to be left along with Mariah. Cherry did when she would come home from school and had no work to do. Evie said she would start to come when it was the middle of August, considering the date was in the beginning of September.

I stopped walking and looked at Two-Bit. "I just realized something."

He gave a look that was both confusion and nervousness, "Nothin' bad, right?"

I shook my head and smiled. "No, of course not."

He nodded and obviously calmed down. "Ok… so what's goin' on?"

"Ok… it's June right?"

He nodded again. "Right."

"And the due date is in September right?"

Another nod. "Right…?"

I let out a nervous chuckle. "That's three months."

He thought for a moment till he looked back at me. "We have three months, " he repeated. I looked back at him and for some reason the two of us busted out laughing. People all throughout the park started to look at us kinda weird, but we didn't care and just kept laughing despite everyone's looks.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared. Don't get me wrong, I was excited too. But I didn't know anything about how to raise a kid. Sure, Two-Bit helped with his sister and he still does a lot, but she's a girl. What if it was a boy? You'd think I'd know how to handle a boy considering I spent the majority of my life surrounded by guys, especially these guys, ever since Ponyboy was a toddler. I even remember helping Mrs. Curtis with him sometimes when I was little… maybe this would be the same?

**This chapter is kinda corny and for some reason, and I had to force myself to type this chapter… I don't know why, I just did.**

**Anyway- guess what?! I'm going to an Elvis Presley impersonator concert on June 20 with my mom's cousins wife(I think my second cousin?) and their daughter's daughter (I think second cousin once removed?) and their son's son (irony, daughter's daughter, and son's son)!... I have no shame whatsoever, and you know why? Cause he's a hunk-a, hunk-a burnin' love (that was so corny).**

**Anyway, hope y'all liked this chapter! Plus it's almost summer so yay! Peace from all the hippies of the world! =^-^=**


	9. August 31, 1972 into September 1, 1972

**Ok so for some reason this chapter was awkward to write and I don't know why**

_**August 31, 1972 into September 1, 1972**_

"You doin' any better, Rain?" Candy asked and sat down on the couch next to me.

I readjusted my position on the couch and shrugged. "I don't know," I sighed, "More on and off than anything else."

"We called Marilyn," Cherry said, "She'd know more than any of us, I think."

Evie sat on the couch arm. "Has this been bothering you since this morning?"

I shrugged again. "Not really, at least not as much… enough that I was able to convince Two-Bit to go to the garage for work. He didn't really wanna go cause of the time and the only reason he _did_ go was cause the garage is so close and that you all would be here."

"Well it's nice to know that he trusts his pregnant wife with us." Evie let out a chuckle as the doorbell rang. "I'll get it.

I looked over and saw Marilyn come in. She came over and sat next to me. "Hey, you doin' alright?"

"I don't know." I heard Candy start to explain what was going on and what had been going on before she got there and while she explained, it started again. _You've got to be kidding me_, I thought. I bit down on my bottom lip and felt my body get stiff, yet I was shaking a tiny bit.

"Evie, what's that clock say?" Marilyn asked.

"3:21."

"Do you know the time the last time it happened?"

"About 3:10."

"Alright, Rain- I _really_ think we should take you to the hospital."

I nodded and let out a sigh. We all got up and left the house. The five of us would fit in Marilyn's car, so that's who's car we took. Whatever had been going on the rest of the day stopped when we got to the car but continued on and off through the ride there. To be honest, I was scared and had never been so scared during my entire life.

It took ten minutes to get there. When we did get there, we didn't go to the emergency room part of the hospital, we went to the women and children building or whatever the place was called. It wasn't very crowded there, which I was completely happy about. Honestly, I'd never been so happy to be at the hospital in my life.

As soon as we got there, because of the place not being crowded, everything happened really quickly. Marilyn, Candy, Evie and Cherry had to awit outside whatever room where the doctors or nurses had me for a while. They did a few examinations and tests that were pretty uncomfortable, but this whole day had been uncomfortable for me so it didn't fully make a difference. The nurse said she _had_ to do them, so I just dealt with it.

I was happy when Two-Bit came into the room they placed me in around five o'clock. "Hey, Candy called me," he said when he walked into the room, "You doin' ok?"

I shrugged, 'I guess so… I'm just scared. I mean, what if something's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong and you're gonna be fine, alright?"

"How are you so sure?"

"Cause when I walked past I heard the nurses talking and the name _Raina_ was mentioned and, no offense, but how many Raina's can be in the same area of the hospital?" Somehow, that managed to get me to smile.

A nurse knocked on the doorway and walked into the room. "Hi, Raina. How are you doing? Any pain at all?" she asked with a smile.

I shrugged again. "I guess so."

"Is it more frequent than before?"

"Yeah."

The nurse nodded. "Alright, I'll be back in a little while, just hang tight, ok?" She still had a smile on her face.

I nodded as she walked out. "She was too perky," Two-Bit whispered when she reached the door, causing the both of us to laugh. I guess we were louder than we planned to be cause she looked back at us with a confused expression as she walked out and out of the room.

After a little while, any pain that I had was slowly but surely getting worse than it had been. A lot of times I had actually doubled over on the bed on my side, my hand clutching my stomach. The only thing that made it somewhat better was that Two-Bit was sitting in the chair next to my bed, both of his hands tight on my left hand.

The nurse came back into the room a little ten o'clock. "I have some good news for you too," she smiled and looked like she was about to explode.

"What's goin' on?" Two-Bit asked and looked at her.

"You're going to have the baby soon! If not in the next few hours, at least tomorrow"

…_..September 1, 1972 at 5:37am…_

"What should we name him?" Two-Bit asked quietly.

I shrugged, "I don't know… well, when I was little- before I met all of you- I always dreamed that when I got married I would name y first boy after his dad."

He gave a look that both was questioning yet smiling at the same time. 'You wanna name him after me?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, kinda."

"Keith Mathews Junior?"

"I like it… but maybe we can call him something else, like a nickname. Cause you still react to _Keith_ sometimes cause of your mom and Keilah."

"Then like what?"

"Maybe… KJ?"

He smiled, "I like it."

He left the room and went to the phone that was in the hallway to call a few people. I knew he was going to call Keilah and his mom, the immediate family. Then he was probably gonna call our unofficial family- for some reason, when we all got legal, we all started to call each other that. Though knowing them, when he called Candy, she probably would freak out and say she wanted to call everyone else about the whole thing. She would've done it within five minutes, or at most ten to fifteen cause it wasn't even six in the morning yet.

He came back into the room about ten minutes later, looking like he was gonna start laughing. "Ok," he started, "So I called Candy and when I told her you had the baby, she screamed into the phone then kept screaming while she said she wanted to be the one to call everyone else."

See- I told you so.

I chuckled then looked down at the baby in my arms while Two-Bit walked over. "Welcome to our family, KJ," he smiled then kissed his forehead then mine.

**Awwwwwwwwwww. How cute was that, oh my gahd. **

**Ok, like I said, for some rason when I was writing this in my notebook it was awkward.**

**Oh! I meant to say- so I went to the Elvis Presley impersonator with my mom's cousins and their two grandkids and it was amazing oh my gahd. The dude was named Tony Grova and he's 58. But he had some 19 year old kid- Anthony Duke- open up for him and his voice was amazerful, oh my gahd. The thing is that my little cousins on the way back started calling him my boyfriend just cause I thought he was cute and a good singer then my mom's cousins kept saying about him being my future husband and I was so pissed yet I wasn't cause I'd be lying if I said that I didn't have a slight crush on him but anyway!**

**Hope you liked this chapter, sorry about delays cause of the end of the school year and welcome little KJ! :D peace from all the hippies of the world!**


	10. September 8, 1972

_**September 8, 1972**_

"You have no idea how great it feels to be outta there," I smiled as Two-Bit drove out the parking lot.

I heard him chuckle, "Yeah? Not that it was a bad thing- how's it feel not having a tiny person in you no more?"

I smiled and looked at KJ. "As good as it does seein' him in front of me."

We got back to the house a little while later. I took the carrier out the car gently, trying not to wake up KJ. Two-bit took my duffel bag and the newly purchased baby bag and opened the door. Mrs Mathews and Keilah were inside when we opened the door since they were still staying at the house until KJ was born. From what I could tell, Mrs Mathews was cleaning around the house while Keilah was at the table with a large book in front of her and a few other objects placed around her on the table.

"Don't take this the wrong way," I said quietly, "But what're you two still doing here?" I sat down on the couch and set the carrier gently on the small coffee table.

Keilah got up and walked over to us. "We wanted to greet you three when you got home," she answered, "And I wanted to give you guys this." She held out the book that was in front of her on the table and her brother took it.

It was a medium sized book. The cover was a cream color with a gold square painted on it and written inside the square was _Keith Mathews and Raina Johnson_ in the same paint but in cursive writing. When you opened the cover the first page had _Married August 30, 1969_ printed on it in black letters that were somewhat curved but not exactly cursive. When you went throughout the pages, it had pictures all the way from when we were kids- along with everyone else- all the way to when we started dating to when we got married. Then pictures started again from more recent events, like the ones took when KJ was born… nearly every picture had at least one of our friends in them.

"We got some of those from Soda," Keilah said, "cause we all know how much that boy loves to take photos."

She did have a point there. When Sodapop Curtis was around, there was a camera not too far and it was almost always in his hand.

"Oh man," Two-Bit laughed and pointed to a page full of newspaper articles, "That's when you won that horse race… remember that? Soda basically made you."

I laughed at the memory. To be honest, I'm pretty sure the horse I rode- Sport- at that rodeo was probably dead by now since he was somewhat old ten years ago, if he wasn't dead by now, he was old as dirt. It was a fun day, I'd be lying if I didn't admit to that- especially since I got to basically beat up that guy James… plus I was the first girl in Tulsa to enter the horse race and win the same day, and everyone was freaking out about it for nearly two weeks.

"We got those articles from Sodapop too," Keilah said.

I laughed, "I'm not surprised one bit."

"Alright," Mrs Mathews laughed, "Keilah, we should get going. You two: settle down, look through the book, whatever the heck you wanna do. If you two need anything, you know where to find us." We both nodded as the two bid us goodbye then walked out.

KJ was still asleep so we went to go put in the crib in the room we had set up a few weeks ago. The room wasn't big but it wasn't small either, but it was big enough so that as he got older, we would be able to change the room all the way to when he was a teenager and however he wanted the room. It was painted a shade of yellow- not too bright, not too dark. Somehow when Two-Bit, Darry and Danny painted it they painted little stars all throughout all four walls of the room.

I turned in the room and saw a small dresser that we didn't buy. "Where'd that come from?" I asked Two-Bit and pointed toward it.

Two-Bit placed KJ in his crib then looked to where I was pointing. "Oh that," he said, "It's from Rusty. When I told him that KJ was born, he said he had something for us so while you were in the hospital, I went over to his house with him and he said that was it."

Two-Bit still worked at Rusty's garage. Believe it or not, he paid enough so that he could keep that job, but about two months ago, Rusty gave him a slight raise in pay. Another thing was that, when he found out the real reason that I quit working there when we were teenagers, he said that if I was ever in need of a job, I could go there- and apparently he still had my shirt in his office.

The doorbell rang, cutting our conversation short. "I'll get it," I said, left the room and went to the front door. When I opened it, a man who looked to be in his late forties to mid-fifties stood there looking both slightly guilty and nervous. He had blondish hair and light eyes. "Um, hello… can I help you with something?" I asked.

He glanced down at the floor then back at me. "Uh, yeah," he said with an unsure tone, "Can I come in?" I hesitantly let the man in. "Is Keith here?"

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Yeah, why?"

"I just really need to talk to him." I went to KJ's room and got Two-Bit, telling him about the man then followed him back to the living room as he whispered, "Stay behind me and listen for KJ." When we got to the living room, he froze when he saw the man.

"Hello Keith," the man said, "Do you remember me?"

Two-Bit nodded and crossed his arms, "Unfortunately, yeah.

"Who is this guy?" I leaned up and whispered to him.

"My dad." His tone was dry and flat as he continued to stare at the man and my eyes widened.

The man sighed, "I came here to apologize to-"

"You should've done that fifteen years ago."

"I know… that's why I'm here. I… I wanna make things right with you, Keilah and your mother."

"You can't, especially with my mom. You left her alone with two kids- a ten year old and a two year old. Keilah doesn't even remember you but always would blame herself for you leaving all the way till she was sixteen last year. To be honest, I blamed myself for nearly all my life."

"It was never either of your faults-"

"That's right, it was your own damn fault!"

He sighed again. "I just didn't think I could handle taking care of the three of you like I-"

"Couldn't handle it? You thought you wouldn't be able to handle it?! And you thought my mom could handle two kids on her own? I remember her crying nearly every night for a month when me and Keilah were supposed to be asleep, but I couldn't fall asleep, cause I was always wondering- when's Dad gonna come home? And you have the nerve- _fifteen years later_\- to just show up again and act like nothin' ever happened?!" He stopped when we heard KJ crying.

"I'll take care of him," I whispered and he nodded. I walked out the room, but not without turning on the baby monitor so I could hear what the two were saying.

"_I'm guessing she's your wife?" _I heard in his father's voice.

"_Yeah,_"Two-Bit answered, _"Yeah, she is."_

"_And that's your baby?"_ I guess he saw the picture that Mrs Mathews put up from the day KJ was born.

"_Yeah, my son."_

"_You have a beautiful family."_

"_Yeah… yeah, I do. And I want you to stay away from them. Stay away from my wife, stay away from my son, stay away from my mom, stay away from my sister, and stay away from me. If I hear that you went near any of them, I'm callin' the cops and having you arrested,"_ I heard Two-Bit growl at him, _"Now get out of my house and get outta Tulsa."_

My eyes widened a bit at what he said to his dad. I heard some sort of sound that sounded like the door then heard something that sounded like a sigh. About five minutes later, I heard footsteps coming to the room and Two-Bit opened the door and walked in. He chuckled a bit, "I know you were listening through that monitor thing." I couldn't help but return his slight smile as he came and sat down next to me next to the crib.

"I'm proud of you," I whispered and leaned my head on his shoulder.

He kissed my forehead then looked at KJ, "I'm never gonna leave you two, I promise."

I nodded. "I know you won't… cause Darry and Soda would probably hunt you down and kill you." I remembered what they said when the two of us started going out.

He chuckled again and nodded. "Probably… by the way, remember when I asked you if you were alright when your parents came that day, and you asked how I would feel if it happened to me?"

"Yeah…?"

"I think I know how you felt now."

"And I know how you felt with wanting to kill them so badly," I teased and laughed.

**Awwwwww how cute… by the way, I've been planning for his dad to come around since we all know that in the book, his dad left.**

"_**Dr Pool!"**_

"_**Dr Pool?!"**_

"_**HELLOOOOOOOO"**_

"_**Get back in the room!"**_

**XD sorry! But I'm watching "Oscar" as I type and that scene just happened (I love Sylvester Stallone ok? Way before I ever knew about the Outsiders). Anyway, how's life? My life is actually picking up somewhat- I'm almost done with school, my expendables fanfic is nearly done (like I said, I love Sylvester Stallone), my mom is gonna buy me books from amazon. com instead of making me pay for them, I'm almost done with reading "Heaven and Hell", plus I started watching this anime show called "Clannad" and according to my friend Alex (andra) I'm an official Otaku! (anime fan) it's the only show I've watched most of it (so far- not including Chi's Sweet Home) but she said if I can handle that show, I can handle nearly any anime so yeah.**

**Anyway, peace from all the hippies of the world! =^-^=**


	11. December 31, 1972

_**December 31, 1972**_

"Happy New Year's Eve!" Danny greeted as he came in from the other room, his and Sandy's three year old daughter Lucy following close behind him, then running over to her mother who was sitting on the couch with Marilyn.

Lucy was born in 1969 in mid-September. She had features from both Danny and Sandy. Lucy had her father's bright blue eyes and her mother's bright blonde hair, which had the same texture and strength of her father- when it wasn't greased up. She was quieter than most three year olds, which obviously was from her mother, but once you got to know her and she was comfortable around you, she would be as loud and as outgoing as her father.

Sandy chuckled at her husband as she took their daughter onto her lap and shooshed him a bit, "Don't be too loud, Mariah and KJ are asleep in the next room."

"You might make them start to cry, Daddy," Lucy said in a _matter of fact_ tone of voice, making both Danny and Sandy chuckle at her.

Danny put an apologetic look on his face toward his daughter. "Sorry," he whispered in a way obviously trying to make Lucy laugh, which she did.

"Are you excited to see the ball drop?" Soda asked Lucy with an enthusiastic smile.

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I never saw it before! Is it pretty?"

"It sure is! It looks real pretty. Just as pretty as you." He tapped the end of her nose, making her laugh again.

Candy nudged my shoulder. "Do you think that when me and Soda get married that he'll want to have a baby and be like how he is with Lucy?" she asked me in a whisper.

I let out a chuckle. "Please… you'll probably end up having to take care of two kids instead of just the one," I answered with a chuckle.

Everyone was there, and we were talking like we always did. We had no lives so that's just what we did naturally. There was something different every year, ever since we were teenagers, but as we got older, there was a lot more things that were different. Whether it be a baby, or a marriage or whatever the reason was- there was just always something different. It gave a strong feeling of nostalgia though every year, which I would never mind.

One thing was that Danny and Sandy were there. For the last couple years, the two would either go to California- where Danny was from; or to Australia- where Sandy was from- for a week around this time of year. I'm not really sure why they didn't go this year, but it was mentioned how Lucy wanted to stay home this year for the holidays cause, "Cousin Marilyn is gonna be there with Cousin Mariah" or whatever her exact words were. The two decided to stay in Tulsa for the holiday in that sense, I guess.

It was only about 10:30, so we still had an hour and a half to kill before the showing of the ball dropping in New York City in Times Square. Sure, Oklahoma was an hour behind New York, or even the East Coast for that matter… but still, they would play the recording.

The majority of the time was spent trying to make Lucy smile and/or giggle at things, or just trying to keep her awake. This was the once a year she was able to stay up really late, so she wanted to take advantage of it. She had fallen asleep a few times already through the night, but she wanted to be awake to at least see the ball drop. It was nice, trying to make her smile- we basically all did that with Mariah and KJ too and since one of us was always around them, they recognized us all and it wasn't hard to make either of them smile. Actually KJ wasn't that hard, he seemed to smile more than most three month olds... he probably got that from Two-Bit.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a faint crying coming from the next room. Everyone in the room perked up for a moment, but for the most part it was me, Two-Bit, Marilyn and Darry. "That's KJ," Two-Bit said and got up from his seat and started toward the room where KJ was and I followed after him. I stopped when I felt a tugging at the edge of my shirt. I looked down and saw Lucy. "Can I come too, Aunt Rain?" she asked.

Lucy called us all 'Aunt' or 'Uncle", unless it was Darry or Marilyn since they were technically cousins. We were all close so it was established that as time went on, all our kids would do the same thing. I smiled and nodded at her, "Yeah, sure, c'mon." She smiled and took my hand as I led her to the room where KJ had been asleep. Two-Bit turned around and looked at me as we walked and gave a confused look toward Lucy. "She wanted to come," I whispered. He nodded with a slight smile, trying to hold in a laugh.

I had noticed that, over the years, he started to mature. I knew we would all mature as we got older, but he did more than I ever thought he would from when I was fifteen. He had actually suggested and wondered about being called Keith again… granted her got rid of the idea in less than a minute and made a joke about it, showing that he was still him and would never really change one hundred percent- which I was completely fine with.

When we got to the room, the reason KJ was crying was cause he was hungry. I had a bottle that Mrs Mathews helped me with at home, since I hadn't really taken KJ out of the house yet since he was only a little over three months old and him being my first baby- to say I was paranoid would be an understatement. Thankfully though, I had Mrs Mathews who had been a mother for over twenty years now, and Keilah who was more than willing to be a babysitter whenever needed.

"Are you ever gonna have a baby girl like Cousin Marilyn and Cousin Darry?" Lucy asked and stood next to me and watched as I gave the bottle to KJ.

Two-Bit and I looked at each other, not fully sure how to answer. "Uh… maybe in the future… but not yet, we just had KJ," I answered with a slight chuckle.

"Do you think KJ and Mariah will be friends when they get big?"

I heard Two-Bit chuckle and looked up at him for moment. "Maybe Lucy. It could happen," he smiled.

"Maybe they'll even et married when they get big too!"

I tried not to laugh at her but it escaped my mouth and Two-Bit did that same, of course which caused Lucy to smile and laugh. By now, KJ had finished the bottle and was half asleep and trying to stay awake, probably wondering about what we were all doing around him and not wanting to miss a thing.

Lucy sat down next to me while I placed KJ back in the carrier thing- I didn't really know the official name for it- and rocked it back and forth gently till he fell back asleep. Lucy kept watching with an interested look. "How do you know what to do?" Lucy asked looking back and forth between me and Two-Bit.

"Well, your Cousin Marilyn and your Cousin Darry helped us," I answered quietly.

"Well then how did _they_ know?"

"They learned from your mommy and daddy," Two-Bit answered and sat down.

"How did _they_ know?"

Two-Bit and I looked at each other trying to figure out how to answer just like before. "They probably learned from their parents," I shrugged.

Before Lucy could ask another question, Two-Bit spoke up, "Why don't we all go back to the living room and you can ask your mommy and daddy?" Lucy smiled and nodded then left the room to go back to the front room. "Nice one," I whispered to Two-Bit as we left the room. He smiled and nodded, obviously proud of his answer.

Right when we got back to the living room, Lucy had ran ahead and placed herself in between Sandy and Danny on the couch and already asking questions at them a mile a minute. Sandy tried to answer her daughter's questions as best as she could while Danny kinda sat there confused and asically agreeing with everything Sandy said. Danny looked at the two of us with a look that showed even more confusion, probably wondering what we did to his daughter. Two-Bit and I shrugged at him and held in our laughter.

**I am not happy with this chapter at all.**

"**You have not killed anyone in months," Marvin said to Frank Moses in RED 2 (sorry, I'm watching that right now and that part just happened… plus I watched the first one right before it)**

**I explained my absence in "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" in "Nighthawks", and I thin chapter 5 in "Loyalty" and I think chapter 19 in "Cherry Flavored Soda" (?) or something like that so that's there- I apologize for it… the next chapter will be somewhat funny. I mean, being sick isn't funny, but more how Rain and the other character react to the other character having a cold (you can probably tell by that explanation who the other two are but yeah)**

**Oh and today my parents are married 20 years now! (july 22, 1995)**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter- peace from all the hippies of the world. =^-^=**


	12. February 14, 1973

_**February 14, 1973**_

"His head is kinda warm," I said nervously and bit down on my lip.

Two-Bit's face showed worry as he walked over next to me. "Are you sure your hands ain't cold or somethin'?" he asked, "I mean, it is pretty cold outside."

I nodded. "Yeah… I even heard him cough once a little while ago."

"It's official, I won't go to the garage today. Rusty'll understand."

"Well, maybe you could go in the morning and leave 'round 11:30 or somethin' like that?"

"I don't think so. I'd just be worried the whole time and then Rusty'll ask me what's going on and I'll say how KJ don't feel too good and then he'll send me home anyway," he chuckled a bit.

I managed a weak smile. "That's true… alright, go call him. I'll stay here with KJ while you do." He nodded and walked off.

It was 7:49 in the morning. Usually KJ wouldn't wake up till it was about eight o'clock, but instead he woke up around 7:25 in the morning. Sure, there were times he would wake up a bit earlier or later, but that was usually by five or ten minutes, fifteen at the most. But nearly hour an hour earlier? That was weird for him. We had the baby monitor on and I heard him crying. Of course- like usual- my reaction was jumping out of bed, putting on my slippers and rushing to his room cause to be honest, it always made me upset hearing KJ cry. Is that a mother thing? Is that normal? Anyway, either way, when I saw what the time was, I ran even faster.

When I got to his room I ran over to his crib and picked him up automatically and held him in my arms like every morning. At first I was already worried since it was half an hour earlier than when he usually woke up, but then I noticed that his ears were a little more red than when he usually cried. Don't ask me how I noticed that cause to be honest, I have no idea how I noticed that myself. Mrs Mathews said it was a mother thing cause little things like that were noticed when Two-Bit and Keilah were growing up. Marilyn said that's how she is with Mariah too.

After Two-bit called Rusty, I went to call Sandy that I wouldn't be going to the bookstore for work for the day. When she didn't pick up I decided to call Candy. She picked up but she sounded like she had just woken up right when the phone rang. "_Hello?"_ she answered groggily.

"Candy? It's Rain," I said.

"_Oh, hey Rain… what's up? Why are you callin' so early in the morning?"_

"Could you do me a favor? It's small."

"_What?..."_

"Tell Sandy I can't come to the bookstore today, would ya?" I asked.

I heard Candy yawn over the receiver. "_Uh yeah, sure. Why? Everything alright over by you?"_

"Kinda… KJ has a cold or somethin'."

"_Oh man, I hope he feels better… Soda says that too… I'll tell Sandy you won't be coming today for you. Maybe I'll stop by later by you? See how he's doing?"_

I nodded, knowing she couldn't see. "Sure, thanks. See you later." And with that, I hung up the phone.

The next call I made was to the pediatrician's office. Thankfully, he took calls at eight o'clock in the morning. He sounded tired when he picked up, but when it was this early in the morning, who wouldn't be tired?

The first thing that the pediatrician asked was what symptoms or whatever did KJ have. I told him that his head was a little warm and that he had a small cough, then he eventually got a little bit of a runny nose too. The pediatrician's answer was that he had a tiny cold. It wasn't terrible, but it still wasn't good for a baby that was five month's old. He said it should be gone within the next twenty four hours, maybe even way less, depending on his immune system, but if he wasn't to bring him to his office.

For a while, netiher me or Two-Bit really knew how to do anything or what to do. Obviously, neither of us ever had to take care of a five month old baby with a tiny cold. The pediatrician didn't seem worried at all when I was on the phone with him… but the same couldn't be said for me and Two-Bit being the new, stupid, unexperienced parents we were.

To be honest, the two of us were freaking out to some extent. Did we know what to do in this scenario? No, not really. Were we scared? Kinda, for some odd reason we were. Like I said, neither of us really knew what we were doing. The closest he ever was to taking care of a sick kid was Keilah when she was about four years old. Me on the other hand, the closest thing I ever got was a few times when we were all teenagers but instead of people being sick, it was helping out with their cuts and bruises from some sort of fight one of them got into- not to mention Two-Bit being included in that. Other than that, I had no experience whatsoever.

As the day progressed on, KJ stopped coughing and his nose- slowly but surely- stopped running. Everything completely stopped at around 1:30 in the afternoon. The pediatrician said it would all pass and the tiny cold would be gone without a trace within a few hours, and thankfully, he was right. In KJ's head, he would never remember a thing about ever even having that cold.

While KJ slept, I felt back onto the couch with a light sigh. At this point it was five o'clock in the evening and to be honest, I had never been so tired that early. Not even while I was pregnant with KJ- and I slept _a lot_ during that time.

Two-Bit had gone out to run the errands that I planned on running during the day. Candy had called later on, along with Soda, to see how KJ was doing, reminding me and Two-Bit that it was Valentine's Day. We had obviously forgotten about the date during the day, what with being busy taking care of KJ. We had been taking "shifts" while taking care of him while his temperature was up, so when did either of us have time to remember it was Valentine's Day?

My thoughts were interrupted when the doorbell rang. I cringed for a moment, making sure the bell didn't wake up KJ. When I heard nothing and could tell that it didn't wake him up, I got up from the couch and went over to the door. When I opened it, I saw Candy standing there. "Hey Rain," she smiled, "How's KJ doing?"

"Hey Candy… and he's better now, thanks," I answered smiling back at her.

Soda came up behind her and smiled at me with one of his signature smiles, "Hey Rain."

I was surprised that he just popped up, but not a bad surprised. "Hey Soda… no offense, but what're you two doing here? I knew you said you would stop by, but it's pretty late."

"We're here to watch KJ for you and Two-Bit for the night," he answered.

I gave a confused look but before I could question either of them, Candy smiled and grabbed my arm then dragged me over toward a car that was parked on the sidewalk. It was still winter, so it was already pretty dark out. I couldn't see the car too well, but I could see the figure that was leaning against it that had gotten out that held my coat in his hands. "What's going on?" I asked as he placed my jacket around my shoulders.

"I'm taking you out for the night," Two-Bit answered as we got into the car, "I figured, it's Valentine's Day and we both probably need a little break from watching KJ."

"What're you saying?"

"I'm saying… I rented a room at the hotel in town. We're gonna go to a restaurant and stay in the room for the night."

"But KJ-"

"Soda and Candy are watching him, they watch Mariah all the time. He'll be fine." He cupped my chin and pressed his lips to mine.

I kissed back then pulled away with a smile. "Fine, I give in."

**I'm not happy with the chapters I've been writing for this story lately :,( I don't have a clue why but whatever**

**For my full author's note, look to chapter 6 of Loyalty, it's all there and that was typed earlier today.**

**Hope you liked the chapter! Peace from all the hippies of the world! =^-^=**


	13. March 1, 1973

_**March 1, 1973**_

"I got a job offer," I told Two-Bit as we drove through town and I sat in the back seat with KJ in his carrier.

I could hear the smile in his voice when he said, "That's great, Rain! Where's the job?"

"It's at the radio station in the center of town. The offered me a job as a disc jockey in the afternoon show. It'd be from eleven in the morning till two in the afternoon."

"Rain, that's amazing! Are you gonna accept the offer?"

As I said, I got offered a job at the radio station in center of town. The frequency of the radio station made it possible for the station to reach nearly all of Oklahoma. Believe it or not, it actually reached even a little past Oklahoma state borders. I was shocked when I got the call, and even more shocked to find out it wasn't a scam. Apparently they saw my high school records and some things that must've been in the town department of records.

When I was in my last year of high school, a club was started where the students could get themselves a ham radio license. It seemed pretty interesting, so I signed up. To be honest, I actually had a lot of fun in that club- and I never did extra-curricular school activities. Sure, I was the only girl in that club- which gave me a pretty respectable reputation, at least in the club- but it was really fun. Plus, it was possible for me to get a ham radio license, which apparently is something that is a good thing to have at a radio station.

I shrugged. "I don't know, I might… but who'll watch KJ then?" I asked with a concerned tone.

Two-Bit pulled up to the house and parked the car. "I could ask Rusty if I could come home for those hours," he shrugged as both started to get out of the car. He came by me and helped get KJ's carrier out of the car, "I mean, it'd only be a few hours."

"I don't know… I already feel kinda bad. He's helped us out a lot, even since we were both still teenagers, and even more when I was pregnant."

"That's true… and when I asked him about it, he said he wanted to do whatever he could for: _the best desk girl he ever had_. And those were his exact words," Two-Bit chuckled and took the carrier.

I couldn't help but chuckle at what he said as we went inside the house. "Either way, we''ll have to repay him in someway sometime."

I liked Rusty. He had come over to where we lived a few times, more in the past couple months, especially a month or two before KJ was born. I felt bad cause whenever we needed help with something or anything of the sort, he would come or offer his help and he basically would not take any form of no for an answer. Whenever we asked about why he would do everything he did, he said he wanted to do them. Don't get me wrong, Two-Bit and I were more than grateful for all his help, but we still felt kind of bad how he helped with everything that we needed help with, no matter what the situation was.

My thoughts were interrupted when the phone rang. "I got it," Two-Bit said and answered the phone. I took KJ from his carrier and brought him to his room. I sat down on the chair we had in there and took the opportunity to play around with KJ to make him laugh and smile- which honestly wasn't that hard to do. You know how there are those happy babies that are even happier than usual and almost always smiling? Well KJ is one of those babies.

I turned the volume up a bit on the baby monitor, being the nosy wife I was. I had a feeling that all women tried to hear the phone conversations that their husbands have. To be honest, there were a lot of times when I had been talking with Mrs Curtis while Mr Curtis talked to the boys in the next room and she had stopped talking so we could listen in on what the boys were saying or talking about. It would work nine out of ten times, and as far as I knew, none of the boys had ever found out.

Excuse me for wanting to know everything is fine and nothing's wrong. Sue me.

"_Yeah, you got him… oh, hey Captain, how are ya?... yeah, both me and Sodapop heard about that, why?... oh, uh, yeah… yeah, sure, I guess it's no problem… how long, exactly?... I guess that ain't too long, I've been gone longer… so soon? Are you sure?... I'm just checking cause, y aknow, I got a wife and a kid now too, and Soda's got himself a fiancé… oh, you are?... alright… yeah… I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Captain… it's alright, I get it… yeah, see you tomorrow… bye," _he said and it stopped. I heard a sound then that sounded like a slight sigh.

I heard footsteps coming from the hallway. I quickly turned the volume back down to its regular volume and gave my attention fully back to KJ, who started to smile instantly, causing a smile to form on my own face despite my slight concern for the meaning of the phone call.

Two-Bit came in and sat down on the floor across from me cross legged. I looked up at him. "Who was that?" I asked, trying to hide any evidence that I had been listening over the monitor.

He cleared his throat a bit, "Uh… the captain of my unit from back in Vietnam."

I nodded. "What'd he call about?"

He hesitated a bit. "Ok… remember how I told you how the Vietnamese are letting American POW's go since the war is pretty much over cause of that cease fire that was signed?" I nodded slowly and he continued, "Well, according to my captain, my unit has to go to help and get them all transferred."

I felt my eyes widen and I placed KJ down gently in his crib and crossed my arms nervously. "Both you and Soda?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

"And when do you leave?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"When do you guys come back?"

"Middle of May."

I let out a small sigh, "Alright, that's not terrible, I guess… I kinda wish they gave you a little more notice but whatever." I gave a weak smile.

He let out a small chuckle. "I wish they gave no notice at all."

I sat down next to him on the floor. "Did your captain call Soda?"

"He said he would after he got off the phone with me?"

"Then we should expect a call from him and Candy before the day is over, yak now that, right?" I laughed and he did the same.

The rest of the day was spent packing a few things he was allowed to take with him. To be honest, it wasn't a lot and you didn't need a lot. Two-Bit had told me that most guys just took some pictures with them from home and close family members or close friends, sometimes a few select items or small pieces of clothing but that was really it.

Two-Bit did that. He had a few pictures that had everyone in them from New Year's Eve, on that had Keilah and his mom, then one that had me and KJ. Shockingly, he still had the switchblade that I have him from when we were teenagers and he was able to bring it with him too, apparently.

By a little before eleven, everything was packed and he was ready to leave the next afternoon. It was helpful that KJ was already asleep by eight o'clock. Two-Bit and I were about to go to bed until the phone rang. "How much you wanna bet that's Candy?" I asked while laughing.

Two-Bit got up and went to answer the phone and I followed behind. "Hello?... oh yeah, I did… yeah, I am… could you hold on for a sec?" Two-bit covered the phone and looked at me, "It's Soda and Candy."

**Im watching I love lucy again for the second time today except it's on television instead of my dvd XD**

**Ok so I mentioned about her listening on, most women do that right? I mean, me and my mom do that to my dad, is it normal? Oh well**

**Oh by the way, I know about the POW's during the Vietnam cause for these stories, there was a lot of research involved since the Vietnam war was a serious matter and lasted nearly fifteen to twenty years so yeah**

**Anyway, hope you all liked this chapter! Peace from all the hippies of the world!**


	14. May 30, 1973

_**May 30, 1973**_

"I'm comin'!" I yelled as I ran to the front door. I didn't know who it was, but whoever it was woke up KJ with their loud and persistent knocking. They better have had a good reason for being so loud.

I got to the door and when I opened it, I saw Candy. Her eyes were a bit puffy and her nose was a little red and she had an envelope in her hand. She held the envelope out to me. "Read it," she said quietly, almost like a whisper. I took the envelop from her and let her in, closing the door behind her. When I opened the envelope, there was a letter from Soda:

"_Candy,_

_You're probably wondering why I sent you a letter. Alright… so you know how we were supposed to come back about next week? Ok, so Two-Bit's still gonna go back to Tulsa- you probably wanna tell Rain. But I'll be another month or so. I got hurt. We were moving some of the POWs and some Vietnamese rebel came out of no where and shot at us- and I got shot in the leg. Apparently, it wasn't a very good place to be shot, and I wasn't the only one who was, but compared to some of the other guys I'm not so terrible. I can come back home in about a month, maybe sooner or maybe a little longer, but when I come back I'll be in physical therapy for a while I think. Don't worry too much, I'll write you when I can come back. I love you and I'll miss you._

_-Sodapop Curtis"_

"If I could," Candy said quietly, "I'd fly all the way to Vietnam and kill that damn rebel that shot him."

I nodded, "Hey, if I could, I would've flown to Vietnam and killed every guy there who was in the Vietnamese army, or whatever the hell they call it."

Candy chuckled. "You think he'll be alright?"

"Oh yeah. If anything, he'll be the one who's gonna brighten up the whole hospital there."

I went back to KJ's room and Candy followed behind me. She had woken him up when she kept knocking. Now that I knew who was knocking and why she was knocking and I wasn't as annoyed. I wish I could say the same for KJ, but the whole time while I was reading the letter, I could hear him crying from the next room.

His crib was built so that it could rock back and forth, so that made life easier. I guess some people might say that it was- what I call- a "parenting cheat", but when you're twenty-three years old and have your first baby so young and are still getting used to the fact that you're a parent, it helps you a lot. It would probably be helpful too if I ever had another kid- we'll figure that out then. And also, in my case, it was the least expensive crib in the store when we bought it, so it had a few benefits.

"Do you think Soda changed while he was there?" Candy asked quietly when KJ fell back asleep.

I walked over to right outside of the doorway of his room and Candy followed. I shook my head, "I don't think so. I mean, he hasn't before."

"I know, but before this time he didn't get shot in the leg and have to stay over there for an extra month. I'm just scared that the whole experience changed him- and I don't mean for the better."

"Well, he'll probably be feeling pretty down and such for a little while when he gets back, but he's him. You're the one engaged to him, you know him more than I do."

She sighed, "I know, I know. You can't blame me for being nervous, though."

I nodded. "That's true. I get it," I said.

Just like I guessed would happen, phone calls were made the whole rest of the day. Candy had called Darry and Ponyboy and asked if they could all meet somewhere. While she was out with the two brothers, Marilyn came over with Mariah and Lucy since Marilyn was watching her for the day while Sandy and Danny were doing something for the bookstore. I had called Mrs. Mathews and Keilah to tell them about Soda getting hurt and Two-Bit coming home in the upcoming week. Plus, Mrs. Mathews wanted to come over and see KJ, Mariah and Lucy.

From what I knew, neither of them were going to go back to Vietnam after this, war or no war. And not just cause they were called for this one thing.

With everything that Candy has said about her being nervous, it made me a bit nervous too. I mean, Two-Bit had first went to Vietnam when we were all still in high school and nothing had happened to him. Other than the fact that he had a uniform and a different haircut, nothing changed. But Candy was right. Before now- as far as I knew- both had of them had only encountered a close friend getting seriously hurt or killed once in their life. I mean, that whole week back when we were all teenagers was terrible and we never tried to think about it, and to be honest, that was enough to last a life time- but as far as I could tell, none of us ever really thought about it anymore and we were fine.

I had offered for Candy to stay over the night with me, as long as she didn't mind KJ. She laughed when I asked her that and offered to help me if I needed anything while she was there.

"Ya know," Candy said in a nervous tone, "Before Suzie went off with the hippies, she told me about this thing her brother had when he got back from Vietnam."

I felt my heart start to beat a little faster. "What was it?" I asked nervously.

"I forgot what the exact name for it is, but I remember the initials were PTSD."

"What's PTSD?"

"IF I remember right, it's this brain thing that mostly people who were in the military can get. When they get back home, they might get these weird flashbacks or memories, both while they're awake and asleep, where they remember really traumatic things that happened while they were in the military."

"Does it go away?"

"I'm not really sure. I think you can do things to make them it happen less, and I think a person can have things that helps them calm down, but I don't think they can actually go away forever."

I sighed, "After this, they'll both probably have that to some extent."

Candy sighed and nodded, "It's not unlikely, that's for sure."

A little after that, candy went on a search for a book about PTSD or at least a book that had a little something about it. After an hour of searching, she came back with a huge medical book. She showed me the page that was all about PTSD- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. TO say that everything on the page made me scared would be a huge understatement.

That night, Darry and Marilyn invited me and Candy over to their house for dinner. I was going to ask Mrs. Mathews to watch KJ for me for the night, but Marilyn said he could just stay with Mariah in her room. They had also called Ponyboy and Cherry, but Cherry said she had arranged for something to possibly try and get Ponyboy's mind off for a little while that Soda would be there longer and was hurt.

"Those military hospitals ain't so bad," Marilyn said, "At least that's what I heard once before."

"Well wouldn't they need to be? I mean, it is the military. It just makes sense that they would be pretty good," I said with a shrug.

"Especially since probably more than half of those guys are drafted to go rather than actually choosing to go," Candy said, "Don't get me wrong, I ain't a hippie and I support the military one-hundred percent- but I really hate the draft system."

"Agreed," me, Darry and Marilyn all said at the same time then laughed.

"Thankfully, the draft system was shut down this past January," Darry said with a relieved sigh.

"To be honest," I said, "I wish it had never even been started."

"Agreed."

**Now that everything good was happening, I enforce the author's rule: knock em down, make everything that happens good, repeat. It's like the unwritten rule for author's.**

**Ok so I'm kinda behind in all my school work yay! (note the sarcasm) but I was finally able to tell my friends what I'm doing for my sweet sixteen (it's gonna be on September 12 that's two weeks and it's just hitting me that my birthday is in a little over two weeks oh my gahd) so my sweet sixteen is going to be at a build a bear workshop! XD I have no shame, especially since I have always wanted a birthday party there since I was a small child and now I can have a party and I'm excited :D**

**By the way, I deleted my story "Up In Flames"**

**Anyway, yeah, hope you liked the chapter! Peace from all the hippies of the world! =^-^=**


	15. June 23, 1973

_**June 23, 1973**_

"Are you sure you're alright?" I asked Two-Bit as I put away the dishes.

He looked at me with a look that he was trying to hide. Unfortunately for him, I could see through; it had disappointment and shame. I knew he wouldn't admit to it. "Yeah," he nodded, "I'm fine."

I turned around to face him. "Are you absolutely one hundred percent sure that you're doin' ok?"

He came over and kissed me forehead. "I'm one hundred percent sure that I'm doin' fine, alright? I gotta go, I'll be back in a few hours to stay with KJ."

I plastered a small smile on my face and nodded as he gave a small smile and walked out of the house.

I had been worried about Two-Bit for a little while now. Ever since he had gotten back, during the night, he had some sort of bad dream. He reacted the same way all three times. Somehow, I had figured out a way that would bring him back to reality all three times and it worked. When he had calmed down, he would be close to tears and would keep apologizing to me. Then the next morning, it'd be like nothing happened. To be honest, I was scaring me, maybe even terrifying me. Every time it would happen, I would think about the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder thing. I didn't like to think that the whole thing might have been that, but it was definitely a possibility, considering the circumstances.

Soda had been able to come back home about a month earlier. He had to stay in the hospital in town for a week and a half when he got back, but that was for tests and all that kind of stuff to make sure he was ok. It was kind of hard for him to walk, but he would use crutches for now so he wouldn't mess up his leg anymore that it was. After a while, he'd be able to just walk with this brace thing on his leg. After he could walk like normal or at least close to it, he'd be able to stop having to go to physical therapy, though he still might have a slight limp- but he didn't seem to mind the possibility of that.

Candy had told me that Soda had the same kind of dream as Two-Bit, but only once. At that point, both of them would worry me to some extent. Of course Two-Bit since he's my husband and the reason for Soda was because he was a bit brother- at least it felt more like that with him to some extent, I could never figure out why.

Two-Bit got home around 10:30 so I could leave to go to the radio station. It took about five minutes to get there but car, but the building was big and had a parking lot that was kind of small, plus my boss wanted everyone who was taking the next few hours to get there a little earlier than when the show started so we could get everything ready to get started.

When I got there, I greeted the building receptionist- her name was Angelina, but everyone called her Lina- who smiled back at me and asked how Two-Bit and KJ were doing. When I had started working at the station, she was the one assigned to help me find my way around the building and give me a tour of the building, which led to us becoming friends and we would go out for lunch on the weekend a lot since neither of us worked on the weekends unless there was a special event.

When I got upstairs, my co-DJ, I guess you would call it, smiled and said hello. When eleven o'clock would hit, it wasn't just me on the radio. The other person I would host with was named Andrew Brown. When I had first heard his name, I knew it was familiar. When I saw him the first time I was in the studio, I instantly recognized him from high school. He was in that guy Griffin's little crew. He had obviously recognized me right away too, because he started going on about how terrible he felt about everything. I forgave him right away, saying that the whole rivalry when we were all teenagers was stupid and pointless either way and it's in the past, which eased his nerves. Two weeks later, we had become friends. He told me to call him Andy from now on, partly cause as soon as he stopped hanging out with Griffin, he went by a nickname, basically as a "fresh start".

"Hey Rain," he greeted me with a smile, "How you doin'?"

I gave a weak smile. "I'm alright, how are you, Andy?" I asked.

"Doin' ok… how's Two-Bit and your son?"

"KJ's good. Two-Bit on the other hand, that's another story."

"We got time."

I gave a small smile. "Ok… ever since he got back from Vietnam, he's been different. Like he's ashamed of himself or something. In the last two months, he's had three bad dreams or at least something like them."

"Has he gone to see anyone about it?"

I shook my head. "No," I sighed, "I want him to though."

He was silent a moment. "Well, have you told him that?"

"Yeah, but he just keep saying that he's fine and nothing's wrong. I know something's wrong, his mom knows, his sister knows, our friends know, I think even KJ knows."

"I had a girlfriend once who had a brother that was like that. He wouldn't admit that there was something wrong but her and her family and friends all knew it. Even I knew it. It took a few months to get it through the guys skull that something was wrong, and that's only cause their mom broke down in tears."

"I don't want it to get to that point where either me or his mom or sister are in tears, though."

"Just talk to him about it. Yell if you have to, cause I know you don't like to yell."

Before either of us could say anything else, the soundboard controller- Mike- started to knock on the window. "Ten seconds," he called.

We nodded and Andy turned to me. "Just talk to him," he said quietly and we got ready for the ten seconds to end.

When the show ended at two in the afternoon, I left for home. Two-Bit had just put KJ down for a nap, so that made my life easier. He stayed and we talked for a little before he had to go back to Rusty's. When he left to go back to the garage, it was quiet in the house.

After staying with KJ for two hours, I decided to go see how Soda and Candy were doing. I hadn't seen them in a week, so I figured I would. I left the house and dropped KJ off with Mrs. Mathews and Keilah, promising that I'd be back soon to get him. She said to take as long as I needed cause she liked to spend time with KJ.

I was with Soda and Candy for about an hour and a half. He had slowly been improving with his leg. Candy was right, he had changed a little bit from when him and Two-Bit left this time, but nothing too major. Candy had said that, over time, he would most likely how he was like when we were all in high school. He just had to readjust back to everyday life at home, she said.

After I left Candy and Soda's house- which was the house where the three Curtis brothers grew up- I went to go and pick up KJ from Mrs. Mathews then went home. When I got there, Two-Bit had just gotten home too. He smiled and walked over to me when he saw me, and I couldn't help but smile back.

The rest of the night was pretty uneventful, no one called the house and no one rang the doorbell and nothing exceptionally good or bad happened. That was becoming the new normal and in some aspects, a good thing. It was at least a good thing when you have a ten month old baby in the house. Plus, I took it as a sign that everything was beginning to calm down in our lives, at least for a little while. At the same time, sometimes it felt weird not having anyone else around.

"You still sure that you're alright?" I asked Two-Bit as we got ready to go to sleep.

He rolled his eyes and chuckled. "I'm sure that I'm fine," he laughed, "Why do you keep askin' me that?"

I shrugged a little. "I'm just worried, that's all."

He gave a confused look. "Worried 'bout what?"

"Ok… I know you probably don't wanna hear about this… but those nightmares you've been having."

He paused for a moment. "Well, what about 'em?"

"I'm sorry, but there's obviously something wrong with you. It's clear that you don't wanna even think about it and you just wanna ignore it like it's not there, but that's not gonna help anything. If anything, doing that will just make it worse. And to be hoenest, I really think you should see a doctor."

He sighed a bit, "Rain, there's nothing wrong with me. I'm fine."

"Clearly, you're not!" I yelled, tears already starting to form in my eyes, "I mean, for cryin' out loud, each time one of those nightmares or whatever the hell they are happen, it takes five minutes until you can calm down. And even then, it's like you're not fully there! You're there, but you're not _there_, you're somewhere else… if you're not gonna go to the doctor for yourself, do it for me! Do it for KJ! For Keilah! Your mother! Even our friends! Cause you know what? We're all scared to death that something's wrong with you!"

He stood there motionless for what felt like ten hours when in reality it was probably only ten seconds, then sat down on the edge of the bed with a sigh and buried his face in his hands. "I'm sorry," he sighed and said quietly.

I walked around to his side and sat down next to him. When I got there, I leaned against his arm and he used his arm to wrap it around my shoulders. "I'm sorry I yelled but I had to," I said quietly, "Just please go to the doctor."

"Alright… I guess I'll go this week."

"Do you promise?"

"I promise."

**How sad :( **

**Ok so what's up! Happy labor day!**

**My best friends (Alex and Sara with their family) got back from vacation two Fridays ago and last Friday I met with them at the mall cause Alex had a job interview at Yankee Candle (we all hope she gets it!) then went miniature golfing with them. I got a piece of the rope stuck in my hand :D aren't I stupid?**

**Anyway, is it weird that I'm both nervous and excited for this Saturday? I'm having a sweet sixteen party at build a bear workshop. To be honest, I didn't want a party in general but then I was at the mall with my parents and my mom said "look, if you don't figure out a party you wanna do for your sixteenth birthday, me and your dad are gonna figure one out and you'll have to deal with it" so we walked past build a bear and I had always wanted a party there since I was little so in the middle of the mall I was like "I WANT IT AT BUILD A BEAR" and my dad loved the idea XD and all my friends love the idea. And my best friend Candice (I have more than one best friend) kept guessing it was there and my dad said to say no until we sent the invitations so I messaged the invitations on facebook to the people I invited and she called me on facetime and I didn't pick up yet so she texted me "I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I AM THE TRURE SHERLOCK HOMES" and then I called her back and she said the same thing and I told her she could've spelled true right and she said "shut up! I was right! Shut up!"**

**That's my friendships for you right there**

**Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter… by the way, I got someone's opinion from this site who I trust about something I wanna do (you know who you are) and they said it would work so thank you! It will probably happen next chapter and I just realized this chapter is really long, even without my humungo author's note.**

**Anyway, peace from all the hippies of the world and good luck with school! =^-^=**


	16. September 1, 1973

**Ok so after much consideration, everyone in the story will now be calling Two-Bit by his real name, and whether or not it goes well when it's Rain narrating what's going on will determine whether it'll continue or not with her narrating**

**-/-/-**

_**September 1, 1973**_

Just like the doctor said, we had all started to call him Keith. It took some time getting used to, considering we had all called him Two-Bit for about twenty years now. Thankfully, it didn't take that long to readjust with what he was now going to be called- his real name.

Ever since that doctor's appointment, Keith- like I said, his new addressing- hadn't had any those flashback things. That calmed both of us down, considering we were both kinda jumpy at first about the whole PTSD thing. His mom actually didn't seem very concerned about it, which really shocked me. When we asked her why she wasn't very concerned, her answer was: "I have my reasons." We didn't really know what she meant, but we just figured she knew what she was talking about and that's all that mattered.

"Rain, do we have everything we need?" Keith- again, like I said, to get used to it still- called from the next room over.

I picked up KJ and went to where he was. "Yeah I think so," I answered a bit unsurely, "I mean, it's the same as usual, right?"

We were getting ready for everyone to come over. It's not like we hadn't had everybody over the house before, but this time it was for KJ's first birthday. For some reason, the two of us were kinda running around the house like chickens without heads trying to get the house ready or whatever the reason was. I don't really know why, though/

Originally, Keith and I weren't going to really doing anything. Sure, we were going to do our own little thing at home, but Darry and Marilyn had done some little thing for Mariah and invited everyone, which gave us the idea to have some sort of little thing for KJ. I don't think we really grasped how special it was, the fact that it was his first birthday. It's not like it was problem or anything, considering it had been a while since everyone had been together for something.

Our original plan was to have our own little celebration at home with just the three of us. Then we had plans to go to Mrs. Mathews' house cause she wanted us over for a little while, considering KJ is her grandson. And Keilah wanted us over too cause KJ is her niece. We would be going to her place around 6:30 in the evening… in summary, we kinda had a full day, and little KJ wouldn't remember a thing of it

"Just imagine how hectic it'll be if he ever wants to have a party here at the house when he gets older," I said and sat down on the couch, resting a smiling KJ on my leg, "Is it just me or is it like this whole year kinda flew by?"

Keith laughed, "I thought it was just me that thought that. I thought I was going crazy or somethin'."

"That's what I thought about myself," I laughed.

A moment later, there was a knock on the front door. Keith went over to the door and when he opened it, Candy and Soda stood there along with Darry and Marilyn and little Mariah. They all came in, saying hello and then we all fell into whatever conversation like we always did and probably always would. A few minutes later, Evie and Steve got to the house and did the same exact thing. Ponyboy and Cherry weren't in town but for good reasons; both of them had gotten scholarships to study out of state: Ponyboy in Georgia and Cherry in Tennessee. While they were at their colleges, they would have a long distance relationship.

"Should I be worried that KJ hasn't started to walk yet?" I asked Marilyn, "I mean, he's starting talking a bit. He can say a few words, but shouldn't he be walking by now?"

She thought for a moment. "I don't think you should be worried. I mean, Mariah didn't start till a month after she turned one. I think that if he's not walking by the time he's sixteen to eighteen months, then you should start to worry," she answered with a slight shrug.

"I guess so." I let out a sigh. "I guess I'm just being paranoid," I shrugged.

"You've always been paranoid," she laughed, "Ever since I first met you, you've always been paranoid. But you do have a good reason to be as paranoid as you are, I can tell you that much."

I gave a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Just everything you've been through… look, don't focus on that kind of stuff today. It's your son's first birthday, focus on that."

I gave a small smile and nodded at what Marilyn had said, and she gave a small smile back.

About two and a half hours later, everyone left out house, knowing we had to go to Mrs. Mathews' house. Keith and I cleaned up the house and what had been unintentionally left out, packed the bag we would carry with us when we went out with KJ and left the house. It didn't take long to get to Mrs. Mathews' house so we walked there instead of taking the car.

When we got there, even though we had a key for the house, we still knocked on the door. When the door opened, we saw Keilah, who smiled when she saw us. "Hey Rain, hey weirdo," she teased her older brother.

"Hey squirt," he teased her back.

Keilah stuck her tongue out and laughed. "Come in, mom's in the kitchen… as usual."

The two of us walked into the house, Keith carrying KJ and I was carrying the bag holding whatever we needed for KJ. "Keilah, who was at the door?" we heard Mrs. Mathews call from the kitchen. Keilah signaled for the two of us to go into the kitchen and greet her. The two of us quietly went into the kitchn. Mrs. Mathews placed whatever she was working on down on the counter and wiped her hands on her apron and started to turn around, "Keilah, I asked you who-"

"It was us," Keith answered when she fully turned around, "Unless you want us to leave or…"

"No! I didn't know you two had gotten here," she answered and came to hug us both, "I'm sorry, I just lost track of time." She let out a chuckle.

I chuckled, "Don't worry, we all do that."

"It happens after you have your first baby, trust me on that, Rain," she smiled.

We were there for a couple hours after that. After a while, Keilah had gone out to see her boyfriend. His name was Daniel and they had been friends nearly their whole lives. A while back, Keilah had asked what it was like to date someone you've known for your whole life. About a month after she had asked me about it, she came to me smiling and saying how he had asked her to be his girlfriend.

When she got back to the house, she took my arm and pulled me toward her room. I stumbled over the coffee table, making Keith and Mrs. Mathews both jump and go wide eyed. I signaled to the two of them that I was ok and Keilah apologized for nearly killing me.

"What's so important that you nearly killed me?" I asked Keilah when we got to her bedroom.

"Sorry about that," she said, "But I really have to tell you something."

"Well then, you gonna tell me or not? And it better be worth nearly killing me over," I teased.

She chuckled then let out a slight sigh. "Daniel told me that he loves me…"

My eyes widened a bit. "And what did you do after that?"

"I said it back…"

"Did you mean it?"

Keilah's cheeks turned bright pink, which answered my question. "Yeah," she smiled and started to twiddle her thumbs a bit.

We sat there talking for a little while longer after that until we heard Keith and Mrs. Mathews calling for both me and Keilah to come to the living room. To be honest, their tones made me nervous. I started to think that something was wrong. Keilah and I ran out of her room and to the living room. "What's wrong?" I asked nervously when we got to the living room.

"He's walking!" Keith smiled at me.

I was confused for a moment until I looked over at KJ and my jaw dropped. He was slowly walking to his dad, smiling, and his little arms in the air to keep himself steady. "Oh my gosh, KJ! You're walking!" I smiled and got down on the floor next to Keith, which was a few steps in front of KJ. I saw KJ smile again as he kept coming toward us then falling against me, laughing his head off. I kissed his forehead, "That's my baby boy."

Keith nudged my arm. "And you were worried that somethin' was wrong," he teased.

**Awwwww**

**I'm still not happy with this book and the little stories.**

**Anyway, I'm sorry it's been a while! I've kinda been having writer's block for this story, yet for "Cherry Flavored Soda" and "Loyalty" I haven't, and then my own book that I'm working on too so yeah. So how are you all?**

**Just as a fill in for another reason I haven't updated: I'm behind in my high school classes cause of my college course, my birthday was last week so I've been going everywhere for that, I've been on a wild goose chase for new headphones cause my nakamichi's broke and I don't really like any other company so we ordered a new pair online, I saw "Maid to Order" for the first time last night on tv (it's so funny and Ally Sheedy is amazerful), I saw "Ghost" for the first time last week (don't tell my parents, my dad doesn't want me to watch it so my mom ha to agree with him yet she's seen it), we came in contact with a "long lost" cousin so we went out with her for lunch last Sunday before she has to go back home to Georgia then South Carolina (if you know the somewhat popular singer Christine Fusaro or Christine Vales- her married name- then that's her), plus I've started to watch "Days of our Lives" (don't judge me, it was originally cause James Read is there), and I've been reading "Charleston" by John Jakes, and me and my two best friends are trying to find the movie "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension" on amazon so we can buy it and watch it cause we saw the ten minute long trailer on youtube and it looks amazerful so there's that too**

**Ok so I'm watching fresh prince of bel air and carlton and will are dancing to it's not unusual**

**There was something else I had to say but I forgot but whatever, I apologize for the long author's note but whatever**

**Also- how did it work with "Keith" instead of "Two-Bit"? did it work out? I feel like it didn't and this girl in the black opium commercial wishes she was Joan Jett what the heck**

**Sorry, off track and that commercial came on so… peace from all the hippies of the world! =^-^=**


	17. December 24, 1973

_**December 24, 1973**_

"Have you told him yet?" Candy asked Marilyn.

Marilyn shook her head. "No, not yet," she answered quietly, "I've only told you, Rain, Evie and Cherry." She gestured to each of us as she said our names.

"Not even Sandy?" Cherry asked in a slightly confused tone.

Marilyn shook her head again. "No. She's my cousin and I love her, but I know she'll tell Danny. I have no problem with that but Danny has a habit of slipping and accidentally telling someone something without realizing what he said until he said it. I don't wanna take a chance."

"Aren't they still in California visiting their old friends from high school?" I asked.

"Well yeah, but before they left I never got to tell them. They can back in a week so I'll just tell them then, when Danny doesn't have a chance to slip while talking to Darry."

"Marilyn, it's been a week and a half since you found out," Candy said, "You have to tell him."

Marilyn nodded and smiled. "Well, I'm telling him tonight. When we do the little midnight gift things, I have a plan to tell him."

Evie gave a slightly confused look. "So, you're just gonna be like: Merry Christmas! Your gift won't be here for nine months but it'll be worth the wait?" she teased slightly.

Marilyn laughed. "Obviously not like _that_, but I guess the same concept."

This seemed to become a habit lately for every Christmas. The guys all ended up talking in the living room for a while, while all the girls ended up talking in the kitchen or dining room or somewhere else in the house. Either way, we divided ourselves into two separate groups. It's not like we intentionally did that, it just happened. One went into another room to do something specific and the others of the same gender followed and they ended up staying wherever they went. This year, the guys were in the living room and we were all in the dining room.

Anyway, if you couldn't tell: Darry and Marilyn are going to have another baby! At this point, she was six and a half weeks, but she was five weeks when she found out. For the past week and a half, the four of us had kept telling her that she had to tell him. It's not like she could go longer than three months without telling him. Apparently, the only people who knew at the moment- excluding Marilyn and the doctor who gave her the news- me, Cherry, Candy and Evie.

"So you're gonna tell him tonight at midnight?" I asked her.

Marilyn nodded. "Yeah. Like I said, that could be this year's little midnight gift," she shrugged.

Another tradition that had started was that when midninght hit, whoever had a gift would open one of them at midnight. You didn't have to if you didn't want to, but we all usually did cause to be honest, we were still kids at heart- which is a good thing. The tradition had been started a year or two previous to now, so we figured it'd be a fun thing to every year, considering we all ended up staying at the house of whoever had everyone over on Christmas Eve overnight. I guess it was just easier and even a bit safer too to some extent since there were Christmas parties going on all over and people sometimes got drunk at those parties… you see where I'm going with this, right? Good.

Candy and Soda had set a date for when they would be getting married: February 28, 1974. According to Soda's physical therapist, his leg would be fine and he'd be close to walking as if nothing had ever happened to his leg but the end of January. He would still have a bit of a limp, but that's just cause it was a bad injury. The two figured that if his leg would be fine by the end of January, then it would be a bit better and he'd get used to walking normally again by the end of February.

It was also decided by her that I'd be her maid of honor.

We all jumped a bit when we heard crying over the baby monitor. "I'll take of her," Marilyn called to Darry in the next room as she made her way toward her daughter's bedroom. I decided to go with her. KJ was in Mariah's room too, so I figured I'd go and check on him. When we got to the room, Marilyn soothed her daughter until she stopped crying. I went over to KJ and saw that he was still asleep. When Marilyn placed Mariah gently back in her crib and I started out the room, she stopped me and turned off the baby monitor. "Rain," she started, "Can I ask you somethin' real quick?"

"Of course," I nodded, "What's goin' on?"

"Ok, um… do you think it's weird that I'm somewhat nervous about having another baby while Mariah's still a baby? I mean, I know there ain't anything I can do about it, and even if I could I wouldn't, and I'm happy about it. But still, I'm kinda nervous."

"Well, what are you nervous about? You don't think Darry'll be happy?"

She shook her head. "No, it's not that. Not exactly, at least."

"What do you mean?"

"I know he'll be happy, that's just how he is. But I'm nervous that as time goes on, he'll start to worry about money and stuff and that we'll struggle cause we'll be taking care of two babies instead of one at that point and I won't be able to work yet. He told me his boss is making some changes around and if something happens I don't want him to get too stressed out."

"Well, did you guys talk about having another baby?"

Marilyn's cheeks turned pink. "Uh… we have, but we, uh… weren't actually

It was also decided by her that I'd be her maid of honor.

We all jumped a bit when we heard crying over the baby monitor. "I'll take of her," Marilyn called to Darry in the next room as she made her way toward her daughter's bedroom. I decided to go with her. KJ was in Mariah's room too, so I figured I'd go and check on him. When we got to the room, Marilyn soothed her daughter until she stopped crying. I went over to KJ and saw that he was still asleep. When Marilyn placed Mariah gently back in her crib and I started out the room, she stopped me and turned off the baby monitor. "Rain," she started, "Can I ask you somethin' real quick?"

"Of course," I nodded, "What's goin' on?"

"Ok, um… do you think it's weird that I'm somewhat nervous about having another baby while Mariah's still a baby? I mean, I know there ain't anything I can do about it, and even if I could I wouldn't, and I'm happy about it. But still, I'm kinda nervous."

"Well, what are you nervous about? You don't think Darry'll be happy?"

She shook her head. "No, it's not that. Not exactly, at least."

"What do you mean?"

"I know he'll be happy, that's just how he is. But I'm nervous that as time goes on, he'll start to worry about money and stuff and that we'll struggle cause we'll be taking care of two babies instead of one at that point and I won't be able to work yet. He told me his boss is making some changes around and if something happens I don't want him to get too stressed out."

"Well, did you guys talk about having another baby?"

Marilyn's cheeks turned pink. "Uh… we have, but we, uh… weren't actually _trying_ this time, just yet," she let out a slight chuckle, "It kinda just happened, ya know?"

I laughed, "I get it, trust me. Believe it or not, that's how it was with KJ."

She laughed then frowned a bit. "I'm just nervous that he'll get really stressed out about his job and everything else. Cause you know as much as I do that does get like that."

"That's true. But I also know that things happen at certain times for specific reasons, so technically it's not like this was a complete accident. A happy accident, though, of course."

Before Marilyn could say anything else, the door opened slightly and Darry stepped halfway into the doorway. "Everything alright in here?" he asked.

Marilyn nodded, "Of course, why?"

He shrugged a bit. "I was just curious cause usually I ca hear you in here with Mariah and I like to make sure nothing's wrong from the baby monitor but I couldn't hear nothin', so I got worried."

"Oh, the battery must've died. I'll take care of it."

Needless to say, when he turned around, she turned the monitor back on and it magically started to work again. As we walked out of the room and to the living room, she turned to me and said a quiet "thank you." I smiled and nodded as we got to the living room and sat down.

I sat down next to Keith on the couch. He smiled and kissed my forehead as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "Everything goin' alright?" he asked. I nodded, "Everything's just fine. KJ's still asleep in Mariah's room."

By that time, it was 11:55 and we were all in the living room talking. As we slowly got older, even month by month, our conversations even started to make us actually sound like adults. We sometimes even talked about _politics_. But whenever we did that, someone did or said something that would completely take all the seriousness out of the conversation and we'd all end up laughing our heads off. Plus, a lot of the time, we'd end up making fun of them or whatever we were talking about, which would always send everyone into a fit of laughter.

By the time 12:10 hit, we all went through our little tradition of the midnight gifts. Marilyn had told me, Cherry, Evie and Candy that she planned to do hers after everyone else had finished. What shocked and confused the five of us was that by the time everyone finished, Darry hadn't gone yet.

When everyone did finish, I saw a Soda start to smirk a bit as Darry took out a blue envelope and handed it to Marilyn. "What is this?" she asked in a slightly confused tone.

"Just open it," he smiled.

She gave him a weird look and opened the envelope like he said. When she did, she took out two pieces of paper. A moment later, she let out a sound that was like a gasp and covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh my gosh," she smiled and threw her arms around his neck.

"What happened?" Evie asked.

"I was promoted at work," Darry smiled, "And I got a raise."

After the five of us congratulated him, I turned to Keith. "Did he tell all you guys this already?" I asked.

He shrugged, "Maybe."

Marilyn went over to their tree, picked up a small package and handed it to him. "Your news make mine a whole lot easier," she smiled, "Open it."

He gave a confused look and started to open the package. When he opened the box, he took out a pair of baby booties. The four of us bit back smiles while all the guys had confused looks on their faces. "Mar', these are too small for Mariah," he said in a confused tone.

She still bit back her smile as much as she could. "Yes, I know that," she said.

"Then why-" He stopped himself and looked at her with wide eyes. "Wait, are you saying…"

She nodded and let her smile show. "Mariah's gonna be a big sister next year." Darry smiled, gave her a quick kiss and hugged her.

"And to think she was nervous," I said quietly.

Keith looked at me with a confused look, "Did she tell you all?"

I smirked. "Maybe."

**I'm actually somewhat happy with this chapter, that hasn't happened in forever with this story. I'm actually not very fond of writing this story anymore but I will cause there might be some people out there reading this who are genuinely curious what happens with their lives based off one of the bonus chapters in "To Love A Greaser"**

**So hi! It's October!**

**I hate October.**

**Before you guys freak out on me like "why do you hate October?! Halloween!", I don't celebrate Halloween. What I do on Halloween is watch "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!" and wait for "Thriller", "Ghostbusters", and "The Monster Mash" to play on WCBS FM 101.1 (last year, they didn't play the Monster Mash and I was so mad). But yeah, and then all the Halloween stuff is going on from September 30 to November 1 and some of it actually freaks me out and then all the horror movies are playing on television or movies that involve ghosts or monsters or whatever. Plus last year, the second half of October, I spent worrying about my bestest friend ever who I've known since I was a baby cause she had a tumor that grew around the tip of her pancreas (she had an operation and she's fine now, it wasn't cancerous) so there's that too. The only good thing that happened last October was that I read the Outsiders.**

**Call me a party-pooper and a complainer, I don't care. Call me rotten, go ahead.**

**Anyway, so yeah- hope you enjoyed the chapter and I apologize for my long author's note (which I'm doing a lot lately)- peace from all the hippies of the world! =^-^=**


	18. February 28, 1974

_**February 28, 1974**_

"Candy, you're shaking as much as one of those rat terrier dogs," I said, "You have to calm down."

"It's not like its bad shaking! It's nervousness. A good nervousness, at that," Candy said defensively.

"Well can try to stop happy nervous shaking?" Evie asked her in a desperate tone, "It's kinda hard to help you get ready with all your shaking."

"Well, excuse me for being nervous. I am just getting married in an hour and a half." She crossed her arms over her chest.

Candy and Soda's wedding. To be honest, we've all been waiting for this day since we were all in high school. The two of them knew that we were waiting, but they never said anything to encourage us. We still kinda teased them about it as we all got older from time to time, and their cheeks would turn pink out of embarrassment- which is part of the reason we all did it, but they knew we were just busting them. Even when they got engaged and we would mention it to the two of them, their cheeks would still bright pink.

"Where's your dress?" Marilyn asked Candy.

Candy pointed to the closet in the corner of the room. "It's in the bag hangin' on the door," she answered.

Marilyn nodded and went to tend to her dress. "So how many people from your family are coming to the wedding?" Sandy asked as she got Lucy ready to be flower girl.

Candy had a large family. Including her, her parents had five children- her being the oldest and the younger four all being her younger brothers. Her mother had four siblings and her father had six siblings- so she had a lot of cousins. She told me exactly how many first cousins she had once, I forgot though, but I can promise you there were a lot of them. Now granted, not all of them were at her wedding, but she was close with a lot of them so whoever she was close with was definitely coming. Then her parents had said she should invite a lot of her other family members and such. In summary, there were a lot of people from Candy's family.

For Soda's family that were invited, it was his two brothers of course and Marilyn and Cherry. Then me and Keith of course, cause we might as well be related to him too. Then Steve of course since they were best friends, then of course Evie cause they had become really good friends. Then Sandy and Danny since they were technically in laws since Marilyn and Sandy were cousins and Marilyn married Darry and whatever the connections were. Then he invited Keilah and her boyfriend Daniel, and then Mrs. Mathews too since everyone was close with her now.

Candy shrugged. "I don't really remember at the moment. I have it written down on a piece of paper where my parents are, so they know, at least. Either way, a lot of people," she answered Sandy.

"Is your dad gonna 'hand you over' to Sodapop?"

"Yeah. I'm his only daughter and according to my mom, he's always dreamed of the day he'll be able to hand me over to a guy he liked and trusted. Thankfully, he does."

"I think it's impossible _not _to like Soda," I chuckled.

Candy laughed. "I remember the first time he met my mom, he kept flattering her and complimenting her on everything from her appearance to our house, and he meant everything he said, and my mom blushed like a private school girl," she smiled and let out a chuckle.

"That pretty much happened the first time I really got to talk to Soda too," Marilyn chuckled, "Y'all know how in books that take place in the 1800s or somethin' like that, it'll say a girl swooned? Like in those books by people like John Jakes" We all nodded. "Other than Darry, he is the only person that has ever made me swoon, I swear." We all laughed at what she said.

"Random change, but Evie, thank you and Steve for settin' me up with Soda in high school," Candy smiled at Evie.

Evie smiled back, "Aw, thanks, Candy. And you're welcome for setting you up with Mr. Pretty Boy… see? I always told you there were perks bein' friends with me? But did you ever listen? No."

"What do you mean perks?" Sandy asked.

"I was goin' out with Soda's best friend Steve- I still am- and Candy here had a major crush on Soda. When he was ready to date again, he told Steve, who told me and we set them up."

Before anyone could say anything else, Cherry came into the room. "I got the bouquets from the florist," she smiled.

The bouquets she brought matched the dresses that Candy had chosen for us all to wear. She loved the color red, so every one of us had a red dress. Since she made me her maid of honor, my dress was a different shade of red, according to her. To me it did look darker than the other ones and what she had said to me was, "It's more of a scarlet cause it's darker so technically, it's not red." I just smiled and nodded when she had said that.

The bouquets that Cherry had brought were a few red and white carnations put together. Candy's of course was bigger and her's had a few pink carnations in it as well mixed with the red and the white. She didn't like pink, but it went with the bouquet. Then how the guys at a wedding usually have a flower in their lapel or whatever it's called, Soda had a red carnation and the rest of the guys had a white carnation. The only other man who had a red carnation was Candy's father, and he had both a red and a white one.

A lot of the other woman who was invited had either a red or white carnation. Candy's mother had two baskets set up in the front entrance so that the women who were invited would take one from the baskets and bring them inside the church sanctuary with them.

"Did you get the headpiece?" Candy asked her.

Cherry nodded and placed it on the table next to where Evie was doing Candy's hair. "I meant to ask you, why is the headpiece so important in your family?" she asked Candy.

Candy shrugged. "I'm not really sure. According to my mom, my great grandmother wore a floral headpiece on her head when she got married, and then he daughter did, and then my mom did and all the other girls in my family who've gotten married on my mom's side have worn one. It's kinda like a tradition I guess. When the girl gets to the front when her dad hands her over, he puts it on her head as some sort of symbolic thing. At least in my family it's like that and it always has been. I didn't want to break the tradition since it's kind of a big deal in my family," she answered with a slight shrug.

"No offense, but it kinda looks like one of those things those hippie girls'll wear sometimes," Evie said cautiously.

"I know it does, and I didn't want to wear it for a while since the hippies protest the war and soldiers. When Soda came back a few times, there were a bunch of hippies at the airport callin' him names. They did it to Keith too, remember, Rain?"

"Unfortunately," I sighed.

"Like I said, only for tradition. If it wasn't tradition in my family, I would have just wore nothin' on my head."

For about an hour after that, we all continued to ger ready. Cherry did everyone's makeup while Evie did everyone's hair. Marilyn continued to tend to everyone's dresses and Sandy did any alterations or adjustments to Marilyn's dress. While Sandy did that, I helped getting Mariah and Lucy ready in their little dresses.

After an hour, there was a knock coming from the other side of the door. "This is Danny," a voice called from the other side, "Are you girls almost ready to start?" Sandy went over to the door and called back through, "Yeah, we'll be out in five minutes!"

We all went out to the hallway where we met up with the guys and Candy's father; he was a really nice guy. I met up with Keith and he smiled when I met up with him. "It's always kinda weird seeing you in a dress," he said with a smile.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "A good weird or a bad weird?" I asked.

"Good weird."

I smiled and kissed his cheek. "Then enjoy it now cause you probably won't see it again till someone else gets married."

As the wedding started, I looked over Steve and Evie's shoulders and saw Soda smiling at the front. He looked nervous, but a happy nervous just like Candy. I turned behind me and saw Candy loop her arm with her dad's.

First to go of any of us was Darry and Marilyn, little Mariah walking as best as she could with the two of them. After them was Ponyboy and Cherry, then it was Steve and Evie, then it was Keith and me. After we all went, Candy's father and she started to walk to the front. When they got there, he placed the headpiece on her head. Candy hugged him tight and he kissed her forehead. He then turned to Soda and said, "Take care of my baby girl, son." Soda smiled and nodded at him as he went to go and sit down.

The service lasted about an hour. During when Soda said his vows, Candy started to tear up. He even paused to say how he thought it was cute that she was tearing up. Evie leaned over to me and whispered, "Good thing I used the right makeup."

After the wedding, Candy's parents had rented a hall for the reception. Her and Soda had tried to convince her parents that they didn't need that at all, but her dad kept saying how he couldn't do all that stuff for her mother when they got married so he wanted to make up for it in a way by doing it for Candy. To be honest, I thought Candy's family relationships with her parents were cute.

At the end of the reception, one of Candy's cousins said she should throw it behind her since it was tradition- and her family was all about tradition. After five minutes, she had agreed and nearly every girl in her family who wasn't married gathered, along with Cherry- only cause Evie grabbed her arm and dragged her over. Marilyn, Sandy and I decided to sit and watch, considering we all had our kids with us.

When Candy turned and threw it behind her, the three of us watched as it flew and landed in Cherry's arms. Candy ran over and said something to her, both of them smiling. I leaned over and nudged Marilyn's arm. "I think you're gonna have another sister in law sooner or later," I chuckled and acknowledged to Cherry.

**At first I liked this chapter but as I kept typing I started to hate it. If I ever become a real author with real published books, I'm gonna be like those actors who can't watch their own movies or singers who can't listen to their own music. I'll be an author who can't read their own books.**

**Anyway, so guess what? I started reading "Tex" this past Monday! I've been waiting for two months to read it! I was reading it last night and Tex gets drunk and says: "what I couldn't figure out was, if drinking made you sick, why anyboy'd want to do it?" and I got so happy cause I always wonder that and I was running around the apartment yelling like "FINALLY SOMEONE ELSE SAID IT THANK YOU S. E. HINTON THIS IS WHY I LOVE YOU." so yeah. I was seriously so happy. And ironically, the dude who play's Tex's older brother Mason in the movie version played James Huntoon in the tv mini series version of John Jakes "North and South", who is the wimpy politician who is married to Patrick Swayze's characters sluttly younger sister and it's gonna be weird seeing him as Mason.**

**So yeah, anyway- hope you liked the chapter! Peace from all the hippies of the world! =^-^=**


	19. August 30, 1974

_**August 30, 1974**_

I was woken up by the mattress bouncing slightly. I jumped awake and squinted at the sun shining in through the open window. I turned and saw Keith smiling at me. For some reason, I busted out laughing at that, but like the weirdo and klutz that I am, nearly fell out of the bed. "Good morning," he smiled and helped me get back into the bed.

I smiled back. "Good morning," I chuckled, "Just to be sure, are you smiling because of what today's date is?"

"If today is August 30, then yes I am." He leaned down and pressed his lips against mine. I kissed him back. We were like this for about a minute, but stopped when we heard KJ over in the other room over the baby monitor. We pulled apart and got up and went towards KJ's bed room. "We're finishing that later on," Keith said, making my cheeks turn pink a bit and I started to laugh.

Hey, we've been married for five years now, it's ok for us to say things like that.

KJ had already switched from sleeping in a crib to sleeping in a bed. A few months' after Soda and Candy's wedding, we went to get KJ from his crib one morning and we found him sitting on the floor in front of it. I freaked out of course, cause I got scared wondering if he fell out of his crib or if he climbed out. We watched this for another week to see if he was actually climbing out of it and sure enough, he did it every morning and every afternoon. At that point, it was established that he needed a real bed cause he was obviously ready for one. We had these wall type things on the sides of the bed so he didn't fall out since he was still pretty small for a bed and could fall out. The crib was moved to the office temporarily. We decided to keep it just in case we ever needed it again.

Keith picked up KJ, who smiled and giggled at his dad, and brought him to the kitchen. I quickly brushed my hair and tied it back to keep it out of my face and then went to the kitchen to make breakfast. Since Mrs. Mathews had been teaching me how to cook things ever since a year after meeting her, I knew how to do things by now- but that didn't keep her from teaching me things or giving me new tips she would figure out.

While I started on breakfast, the phone started to ring. "I got it," Keith said, helped KJ into his chair and went to answer the phone call.

"Hello… oh, hey, Darry. What's goin' on?... oh yeah, how she's doin'?... alright, not too bad I guess. So what's up?... uh, yeah, I don't see why not. I mean, later on, me and Rain were gonna drop KJ off with my mom and sister for the night. I mean, if you don't have a problem with that we can drop off Mariah there later on and she can stay with my mom for the night too… alright, then sure, I'll be right over to come and get her… alright, I'll see ya soon," he finished and hung up the phone.

"What's goin' on?" I asked.

"Darry and Marilyn need someone to watch Mariah for the day. Maybe even tomorrow too, they don't know yet," he answered.

"They're fine with us leaving her with your mom and Keilah for the night?"

"They seemed alright with it. And it's not like Mariah hasn't stayed overnight there before. She likes my mom and she likes Keilah, either way."

I nodded and went over to the phone, saying how I was going to call Mrs. Mathews to let her know that when we went to drop off KJ at her house later on, we would also be leaving Mariah with her and Keilah as well for the night. She didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, she seemed real happy about it.

Not long after, Keith went to Darry and Marilyn's house to get Mariah. I stayed home with KJ and finished off making breakfast. I was making pancakes- I would be lying if I said that I wasn't tempted to put food coloring in them, I'm not fully sure why but I had a feeling that I was feeling a bit nostalgic- and scrambled eggs. I made coffee along with breakfast, and of course juice for KJ.

I knew why Darry and Marilyn wanted us to watch Mariah. The reason was because Marilyn's due date was the August 31, the day after today. She had been having a hard time during the whole nine months, so ever since she got to six months, Mariah had been staying over all of our houses pretty frequently. None of us had a problem with it, so that was a relief to Darry and Marilyn.

When Keith got back to the house and walked in Mariah, KJ smiled a little more than he already was. "Mai-yah," he tried to say, but it came out as though her name was 'Maya'. The two of us chuckled at his attempt as he sat down in the seat by KJ and rested Mariah on his leg. She smiled too when she saw KJ.

"These kids are gonna end up goin' out when they're older, I swear," Keith chuckled.

I laughed, "It wouldn't be a shocker, I'll tell you that much. They both smile a whole lot when they play together or see each other."

"Yeah… and in thirty years or however long, we'll be tellin' our grandkid's how their mommy and daddy used to flirt with each other when they were babies."

"You're expecting us to be grandparents in thirty years? We'll only be in our fifties then, gosh."

He slightly scoffed, "Rain, we're form the East Side, we knew people who were grandparents by the time they were forty. And besides, we got married young and had KJ young, what do you expect?"

He had a point. And he was right about the whole grandparents at forty thing. When we were all still in high school, a total of four girls had to drop out of his school because they had gotten pregnant. It was actually kind of sad and I felt bad for the girl, the guy, and the kid. It was also kinda hard to believe sometimes that the number could've been five and that Evie was almost one of those girls.

After we all ate breakfast, me and Keith just stayed with Mariah and KJ. I did go to work at the radio station for the afternoon since I was only there for three of four hours, or however long I'm there for in the afternoon.

When I got back to the house that afternoon, Keith was off in the backyard fixing something. Both KJ and Mariah were in his room sleeping and taking their nap for the afternoon. All in all, it was quiet inside the house. For some reason, I found it nice. Of course, even though it was me and Keith's wedding anniversary, but I decided to take the opportunity to have some "alone time" as most people would say.

That "alone time" lasted about ten minutes at most.

I heard Mariah and KJ wake up over the baby monitor and went to their room. By the time I got to KJ's bedroom, the two were sitting on floor playing with a pile of blocks. _How did you two even manage to do that?_ I thought and let out a laugh.

A couple of minutes later, Keith came into the hallway. He was covered in paint stains and wood dust, which I of course that was funny but I tried to hold back my laughter. He seemed to notice and smiled, "You can laugh if you wanna." At this point, that was a life saver and I busted out into a fit of laughter.

He went to go take a shower and change after that. When he finished up with that, we took KJ and Mariah and we drove over to Mrs. Mathews house. Of course, we stayed for an hour or so to talk with her and Keilah, but that was nothing unusual.

After we left Mrs. Mathews house, me and Keith went to a small restaurant in town. It wasn't like one of those restaurants where you had to wear an evening gown and a tux, but you couldn't walk in and be dressed "sloppily" and expect to get treated with respect there. Thankfully, I had a nice pair of jeans that don't even look like jeans and a nice button up shirt that worked, and Keith had a polo shirt, even though hates the thing.

We went home after that and by that point, it was eleven o'clock. Both me and Keith decided to go to sleep somewhat early, considering it probably wouldn't be very often when we could get to sleep the whole night long without being woken up during the night at some point. Don't get me wrong, we love that we have KJ, but sometimes it was nice to get a little break every once in a while.

I walked out from the bedroom and slipped into my side of the bed. I was about to turn off the bedside table lamp on my side but Keith stopped me. I looked at him and gave a confused look. "The day's not over yet," he said.

"What're you talkin' about?" I asked confused.

"You don't remember from this morning?"

I thought for a moment then covered my face and laughed. "Ok, yeah I remember," I laughed, "So then, we're gonna finish?"

"This answer your question?" He leaned and pressed his lips against mine and I kissed back, then shut the light on my bedside table.

**Y'all better be able to tell where that led to otherwise the real book I'm working on with suck XD**

**By the way, just so you know if you didn't, this whole story is based off the one bonus chapter in "To Love a Greaser"**

**I'm watching "This Is Spinal" and here's what I have to say: "BOBBI FLECKMAN"**

**Ok, also: this now is a public service announcement. I am reading "Less Than Zero" by Bret Easton Ellis which was made into a movie in 1987 starring Robert Downey Jr, Andrew McCarty and Jami Gertz. If you ever need to be scared out of not trying drugs or ever scared to stop doing drugs, read that book. I mean I'm 16 and the kids in this book are 18 and it scares me that these kids are doing cocaine, marijuana, shooting up heroin and countless other things. Like it's scary, but not in a horror film way, but in a realistic way like "this is real life and this really happens", ya know what I mean? Like, I like the book a lot, but it's just scary. Like last night I was reading it and they're all at some party and the one character who was released from the hospital maybe a few days before for anorexia was the one shooting up heroin. It was just scary and it pretty much gives you a different look on the whole thing and it's honestly terrifying. Like this book should be assigned in schools when kids start to learn about drugs kinda as a: "here's what it can do to you". and I'm only half way through the book.**

**Yeah, anyway, hope you liked the chapter, take what I said about "Less Than Zero" into consideration- peace from all the hippies of the world! =^-^=**


	20. August 31, 1974

_**August 31, 1974**_

I woke up and cringed at the sun shining in through the bedroom window. I pulled the blanket up a little over myself and turned on my side. When I did, I didn't see Keith. I gave a confused look as I got out of bed and quickly changed into sweat pants and an old _Rolling Stones_ t-shirt. I brushed my hair out then tied it back into a ponytail then left the room.

When I got to the living room, I saw Keith on the phone. _That explains that_, I thought. "Who's that?" I whispered. He used his hand to cover the transmitter end of the phone and said, "It's Soda." I nodded and went to the kitchen to make a small breakfast before we went to pick up Mariah and KJ from Mrs. Mathews house.

"We'll have to pick up KJ and Mariah on our way to the hospital," Keith said, "They stayed the night with my mom and my kid sister… I'm not goin' to answer that question and I really don't think Rain will either… sure I'll ask her, _after_ I get off the phone with you… ok, goin' by that, I am too… I don't think she'll tell Candy either… whatever, we'll see you soon, bye Soda." Then he hung up.

"Ok, what was that about and who's at the hospital?" I asked as he came over to me in the kitchen.

"Soda and Candy are being complete creeps," he joked, "And Darry and Marilyn."

"Marilyn? Is she having the baby?"

"Yeah, so we gotta get the kids and meet everyone at the hospital."

I nodded. "Alright. While I get changed, could you call your mom and ask her to get the kids ready so we could just get them and go?"

He nodded and I headed back to the bedroom to go and get changed. I put on a pair of blue jeans on, but kept on the _Rolling Stones_ shirt. It wasn't oversized and it wasn't too tight- at least for someone who's been married five years and has a kid- but would those type of unwritten rules count for me since I'm only twenty-four years old? I put on a pair of black boots then went to the bathroom, where I brushed my teeth and redid my ponytail.

When I got back to the living room, Keith was hanging up on someone on the phone. "My mom said her and Keilah can have the kids ready in ten minutes," he said. I nodded as he started toward the bedroom and I went to the kitchen. I jumped when I felt him hug me from behind. "I forgot to say good morning like I always do," he smiled and kissed my cheek.

I smiled. "Five years and one kid later and there's still romance," I chuckled, "Little things like that I mean." I heard him chuckle again then he went to the bedroom to change.

While he changed I got out two bowls and poured Cheerios into each bowl- don't judge, I don't have enough time to make anything. I did have time to make coffee, so I did make that. I set out both bowls and the two mugs as Keith came out from the bedroom. He had his own pair of jeans on and a t-shirt. After we ate, we drove over to pick up KJ and Mariah.

"So what was that other thing you were talking about with Soda on the phone before?" I asked him while he drove.

Keith let out a slight chuckle, like he thought something was ridiculous. "He asked what we did for our anniversary yesterday," he answered.

I gave a confused look. "Then what was…" When it clicked, I felt all the color drain from my face out of embarrassment. "He really asked about that?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"He said since he might as well be your big brother, he has a right to know how I treat you."

"Technically, you were like a big brother to me before we started going out years ago."

"And that's what I told him. Either way, that sort of thing is between you and me."

"And he thought Candy might convince you to talk," he said, like he knew what my reaction would be.

"Ok, she's like a sister to me, but I'm not gonna tell her that sort of thing," I answered.

I saw him smile. "I was hoping you'd say that."

We went and picked up KJ and Mariah then drove over to the hospital. It took a total of about ten minutes in total. It was still early, plus it was a Saturday, so that gave two reasons why there would be no traffic. When we got to the hospital, it was completely empty in the parking lot. We got out of the car, got the kids then went inside the building where Soda told us to meet him and Candy. When we got inside, there the two of them were and they led us to the elevator, to the third floor and to where the room was. Soda had taken Mariah for me, he said it was to take a load off, but we all knew how much he loved Mariah.

Once we got outside Marilyn's room, we saw Steve and Evie and Danny and Sandy. Ponyboy and Cherry weren't around cause they had both gone back to college. _Why're we always the last ones here?_ I thought with a slight chuckle.

I jumped when Candy grabbed my arm and pulled a few doors away from Marilyn's room where Evie was waiting. "Good morning to you too," I said to Candy when she let go of my arm, slightly annoyed.

"Yeah, yeah, good morning," Candy said then smiled, "So how was your wedding anniversary?"

"Hold on," I said quickly. I went over to Keith and took KJ in my arms, using the excuse that Candy and Evie wanted to see him. I then went back to the two. "I know what you're talking 'bout but now you can't cause I have KJ here now," I said in a teasing voice.

"So you're not gonna say anything about your anniversary?" Candy asked.

I shook my head. "Not a thing."

"I told you she wouldn't say anything," Evie pointed out to Candy, "Oh, well. Seeing KJ is always good enough for me." She then looked at Candy, "Speaking of that, when are we all gonna be driving here for you and Soda?"

Candy's cheeks turned pink with slight embarrassment. "As far as we know, not too soon. We've talked about it, we're gonna wait for that a little while. We're still young so it's not like we don't have time. But when are you and Steve gonna get engaged and finally get together?"

"When you find out, you tell me."

Before any of us could say anything else, Sandy came running over to us. She had a smile on her face and so did Lucy, who followed close by her mother's side. Before Sandy could say anything, Lucy beat her to it. "My little cousin's here!" Lucy beamed. The three of us looked at Sandy for confirmation, and she smiled and nodded. The three of us followed her back to where the guys all stood in a small circle.

When we got back with them, they were all talking with Darry, who had a small bundle of blankets in his arms- and in them was the baby. Soda still held Mariah and he held her closer toward Darry so she could see the baby. "It's a boy," he said with a proud smile, "You'll never guess what she wanted to name him." We all shook our heads and he chuckled, "Darrel Shaynne Curtis III."

Soda laughed, "All your names are similar. Mariah and Marilyn, then you and…" He stopped himself.

"What're you guys gonna actually call him though?" Keith asked.

Darry shrugged a bit. "We thought for now, maybe DT. Then when he's a bit older he can choose if he wants to be Darrel, or stay DT… or even be called Shaynne if he wants."

"How's Marilyn?" Candy asked.

"She's asleep. We've been here all night." He then had a look that said _damnit, I didn't mean to say that._

Evie looked at him. "You guys didn't tell us you were all night."

"Well it was late. We came here right after he came and picked up Mariah from our house." He signaled over to Keith and me. "Besides, we thought it would be another week or two. It just happened."

"You can't really control this sort of thing, Evie," Danny chuckled.

Sandy laughed, "I can vouch for that."

"I think so can DT," Steve joked.

**I'm not happy with this chapter, we're back at that stage. Awesome. Seriously, if I go into the movie industry when I'm older like I want to, I'll be one of those actors who can't watch their own stuff, I swear.**

**That actually happens. A lot of times, actors/actresses or singers/musicians can't watch or listen to their own stuff. Robert DeNiro once said that he falls asleep when he watches his own movies. A lot of times it has to do with their voices cause it your voice sounds different in your head than the way it comes out for the rest of the world to hear. It had to do with the echoes or something, I don't know.**

**Oh I meant to ask, I was thinking that maybe I should do this month by month for every year and only have the specific date sometimes. Would that work? Cause unless I'm going by the bonus chapter for "To love a greaser" that actually has the date of the events in their lives, I pretty much choose a random date and then I'm limited to one day. That's hard to think of- good stuff for one day, then when I come up with it I don't like making chapter a certain length in my notebook so it's hard. This chapter was too cause I changed a whole conversation and such. Whatever, tell me what you think about the month instead of date with a few exceptions.**

**Anyway, so yeah, I hope you at least like this chapter- peace from all the hippies of the world! =^-^=**


	21. January 4, 1975

_**January 4, 1975**_

I had gotten a part time job back at Sandy's book store since Marilyn was still at home with Mariah and DT- that's what they decided to call him until he was older and he would choose on his own. I would go on Saturdays and after I left the radio station during the week. The good thing about it was that Sandy was more than okay with me bringing KJ with me. She would let him stay in the playroom that had been set up for Lucy and I was able to check on him whenever I felt necessary.

People say not to get work, family and friends all together- I had done that my whole life and it had somehow worked out.

I jumped when Candy ran into the store and up to where I was at the front counter. She was smiling and leaned against the counter with one hand to catch her breath. "You ok there?" I asked her with a slight chuckled.

She as still smiling. "Yeah," she breathed out, "Rain, guess what?"

"You're pregnant, I knew it," I teased.

She gave me a look that showed annoyance and confusion. "Who told you?"

Now I was confused. "What're you talkin' about?"

"I said, who told you that I was pregnant? The only other person who knew was my doctor."

"What? No one told me anything. Candy, I was joking with you… oh my gosh, are you really pregnant?"

Candy smiled and nodded at me. "Yeah, I just found out."

I left from behind the counter and went to go hug her and she hugged me back. "Congratulations, Candy! Have you told Soda yet?"

"No, not yet. You know how everyone is comin' to the house tonight, right?"

Soda and Candy had moved into the house where we all had grown up. Darry and Marilyn were living in a house right by Danny and Sandy, but they still had ownership of the house for a while. Ponyboy, Steve and Sodapop had been living there but when Ponyboy left to go make use of his school scholarship, it was the two of them. Eventually, when Soda and Candy got engaged, they moved into the house together and Steve moved in with Evie in the apartment that she, Candy and Cherry shared. When Cherry had left to go to college, that made life a bit easier with the current living arrangements.

Soda and Candy had changed a few things in the house, but mostly everything stayed the same. The two got a new mattress for their bedroom- which used to be where Mr. and Mrs. Curtis slept- but the original bed frame stayed in place. The couches were cleaned and had any holes sewn up or fixed, the tables and anything else made of wood was refinished to help preserve it. They had a few repairs done to both the exterior and the interior of the house to help and preserve that as well. All in all, with the exceptions of a few minor repairs, the house looked the same as it did like when we were all younger.

"Yeah, why? You gonna tell him tonight?" I asked.

"Yeah," she nodded, "Since Darry, Marilyn, Danny, Sandy, Ponyboy and Cherry aren't gonna be there tonight, I told them already. I payed the four a visit, and I called Ponyboy and Cherry. But I figured it'd be a nice surprise."

"Then why did you tell me?"

"I tried waiting till tonight to tell you but I couldn't cause you're my best friend."

"But you haven't told Soda yet."

"Well, you told me before you told Keith. And you were downright terrified."

"I'll admit you have a point there, but you're forgetting that you and Soda have talked about this. We talked about it when I told him that night. Also, I was three years younger than I am now. If I was normal, I would've been just finishing college," I shrugged, "Not that I don't like my life. I love it, but I'm just sayin'."

Candy rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Look, just don't tell anyone that I told you. And are you comin' tonight?" she smiled.

I chuckled and nodded. "Yes, and yes. I promise."

"That's why you're my best friend."

Candy ended up staying for the rest of the work day. Evie hadn't heard us talking, and Sandy didn't know that Candy had already told me, so we all had to keep our mouths shut. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't at least a little hard to do. The fact that Sandy knew, but she thought that I didn't know so her and Candy were putting on a little act. Then since she didn't know that I knew, me and Candy were putting on our own little act. Then the fact that Evie had no idea whatsoever, that was all of us putting on some sort of act.

Confused yet? I am too.

When I got home, I placed KJ down on the couch as he played with some of his toys. "Mama, will you play too?" he asked when I set him down.

I couldn't help but smile and nod at him. I sat down next to him on the couch, picked him up and placed him to sit on my right leg. "Ok," I smiled and kissed his forehead, "What do you wanna play?"

KJ handed me a little person made of legos and a toy train. "Can we play trains?"

I chuckled. "Of course we can, KJ."

He smiled and jumped off my knee and ran toward his bedroom, then came back with a few more trains and lego people, then pieces to the train track and a few hot wheels cars. Then he got his building blocks. _That's like everything in his toy box, _I thought with a chuckle. He sat down on the floor at the coffee table and started to construct a train station out of blocks and the train track and the little buildings that came with the track. I sat down next to him on the floor and helped him build it, following his instructions on what to put where.

Both KJ and I looked up when the door opened and Keith walked in. KJ jumped up and ran to him, and he picked him up. I stood up and walked over to him. "Hey there," he smiled and quickly kissed me. KJ made a face, which of course made the two of us laugh.

"Just curious," I started, "We're still goin' to the house tonight?"

"Yeah, of course," Keith answered and put KJ down and he ran back to the coffee table. "How is Candy anyway? Soda said she hasn't been feelin' too well lately. She ok?"

I nodded. "Yeah, she's fine. At least she was this morning. She hasn't said anything 'bout being sick." Was that a lie? Yes. But she made me swear not to tell anyone about it and they were all gonna find out at the house so there.

"Will Maya be there?" KJ asked happily and smiling.

Keith laughed, "Yeah, little man, she might be there."

When KJ was first leaning how to talk, he couldn't say "Mariah" and it came out as "Maya" instead. He knew her name is Mariah, but he would still call her Maya eight out of ten times. She would respond to being called Maya, but only if it was KJ who called her that. If anyone else ever called her that, she would correct them as best as she could, or she just wouldn't respond until they called her Mariah. Like I said, only KJ could call her that; not even Darry and Marilyn could really call her that without being corrected. In all honesty, we all found it pretty odd, considering they were only three years old. We figured that when they got older they might grow outta it. For now, we just went along with it.

The three of us got to the house around seven in the evening. Like KJ was hoping, Mariah was there, but Darry and Marilyn. Candy had told me they weren't going to be there, but she didn't give me a reason why. Soda told us that Mariah was staying with him and Candy cause Marilyn and Sandy were dealing with some family stuff with their grandmother. Lucy was with Soda and Candy as well, but since DT was still really young, he was with Darry. Lucy wanted to see "Uncle So" and "Aunt CeCe", and Mariah wanted to see KJ.

At the house was Soda and Candy of course, then Steve and Evie, then Keith and me, then of course KJ, Mariah and Lucy. Later on while the three of them played, the six of us were talking. It felt kinda weird having only six of us there, but for some reason, that didn't make it any quieter than how it usually was. I'm not saying that was either bad or good, I just found it ironic.

"Oh, Evie," Candy said as if she were remembering something she meant to tell her, "Remember how you were asking me when y'all would be drivin' to a hospital for me and Soda?"

Evie nodded. "Yeah, I remember," she answered, "Why?"

"I was just curious if you did so I could give you a proper answer."

We all gave confused looks at her and I hoped that mine was convincing. Keith nudged my arm. "You know what she's talkin' about?" he whispered and I just shrugged.

"I can give you an answer now," Candy told her, "And that'll be this September."

Everyone sat there for a moment, until they all realized what she meant. Soda looked at her with wide eyes. "Are you saying that you're…" he started, but was too shocked to finish.

Candy bit back a smile and nodded. "Yeah… due in September."

He let out a slight chuckle and smiled. "I'm gonna be a dad?" His voice was almost like a whisper.

Candy chuckled and nodded again. "Yes, Soda. You are."

Soda smiled and hugged Candy. "I'm gonna be a dad!" he said again, making Candy laugh.

**I actually somewhat like this chapter. Not completely, but somewhat. Though in all honesty, I don't like anything I write which I have said numerous times and every time I read something I've written, whether it be fan fiction or one of the couple books I'm writing to try and get published, I sit there and say "This is crap" but everyone compliments me on them so whatever.**

**Anyway, I don't really know what to say in my author's note so peace from all the hippies of the world! =^-^=**


	22. February 14, 1975

_**February 14, 1975**_

I turned around when I heard running coming from the hallway and gave a confused look. I stood up from my seat at the kitchen table and walked to the doorway of the room. "What is that?" I mumbled to myself.

I started to laugh at myself for getting nervous when I saw KJ running to me. He was still in his pajamas and he was smiling- like always- and carried something in his hands. When he reached me, I got down on my knees so he could reach me easier. When he got to me, he jumped to hug me, trying to wrap his little arms around me. When he let go, he held out what he'd been carrying in his hands. "Happy Val-n-time Day, Mama," he smiled.

I smiled and gently took what he had in his hands. I picked him up and walked over to the couch and sat KJ down next to me. What he handed me was a heart cut out of red construction paper. It had a drawing of three stick figures- a man, a woman, and a small boy- and _Happy Valentine's Day_ written in Keith's handwriting. "Wow," I smiled, "Did you make this, KJ?"

KJ smiled proudly and nodded. "Yeah."

"Did you draw these people?"

"Yeah… me, you, daddy." He pointed to each stick figure as he said who was who, then pointed to the words. "Daddy did that."

"Did Daddy help you cut the heart?"

"Yeah, Daddy did that. But I did the pitcher." He had tried to say picture, but it came out pitcher.

"Aw, thank you, baby. I love it," I smiled. I kissed KJ on the side of his forehead, which made him start to giggle, which then made me smile.

A moment later, I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt someone sit down on my other side. I looked to my left and saw Keith holding back a laugh, obviously from making me jump.

Some things never change, I swear. But in this case, I don't care one hundred percent that part of him never changed.

"Happy Valentine's Day," Keith smiled and kissed me. I kissed back and smiled when I pulled away. We both looked at KJ, who covered his eyes with both of his hands and had his tongue sticking out. Every time he would do that- or nearly everything he did, actually- I would either smile or chuckle. I couldn't really figure out why I would, it just happened. I always thought "oh, probably cause he's my son" or something, I don't know. I'm just odd.

Keith went over to the end table and took something out of the cabinet. I have a confused look as he came back and sat back down next to me on the couch. He held out his hand and there was a red envelop. "It's not as creative as KJ's," he said, "But it ain't terrible."

I took the envelope, opened it and took out the card. On the front was a heart drawn in a crayon and _Happy Valentine's Day_ written in the same handwriting as KJ's paper heart. I felt bad about it, but still chuckled at how everything was pretty much written in crayon- that is how children will affect you, I promise, there will be more crayons that pens in the house. I opened the card and a bunch of printed photos fell out onto my lap.

I picked up the photos and began to look through them. All the pictures were labeled by year and some of them also had the month and- depending on certain events- the exact date. There was a picture from every Christmas that we had been going out for when we were teenagers, every birthday, and everything else in between. A lot of the pictures were even from before Suzie ran off with a whole group of hippies.

Suzie had ran off with the hippies once her brother was seriously injured in Vietnam. It happened in either 1968 or 1969. All I can remember that she wasn't at our wedding cause she had ran off by then, so she had gone with them before August 1969. But since her brother had been seriously injured, she started to really question the point of war and started saying that it did no good. Then with time, since he hadn't really gotten better at all, she started to talk badly about people who were in the military, both in other countries and in America. Not long after that was when she packed her bags and met up with the local hippies, who were going to California. None of us had heard from her since, and every time there was something bad about hippies on the news, we always got a bit worried that maybe she had got hurt. Even though none of us agreed with the hippies way of thinking, she had still been our friend for a long time and we still worried about her- especially cause she was only about eighteen or something when she ran off.

I continued to look through the pictures and found some from when we were all little. We had most of the copies of these pictures, but Soda had most of the photos since he was the one who took up taking pictures of everything and knew how to handle them best out of anyone. "I'm guessing you got some of these from Soda?" I asked, just to be sure. He just chuckled and nodded in response. KJ looked through the pictures along with me, asking who was who in each one and acting shocked when I answered- I guess it was hard at the moment for him to see all the adults he knew as kids.

I then looked at what was written on the inside of the card:

"_Rain,_

_Thank you. Thank you for everything since we were kids. To be honest, if someone had told me when I was fifteen and you were thirteen that I'd end up marrying you, I'd probably freak out and start saying how we were like brother and sister and it would be weird. That was when I was fifteen so don't go by that now. I know I'm a handful sometimes but thank for dealing with me- by choice! - for the majority of our lives. I love you and Happy Valentine's Day. _

_P.S.- KJ helped me decorate the front of the card."_

I chuckled at the card, then looked at Keith and smiled. I placed the cared and the pictures on the coffee table and went to the bedroom and took the card I'd gotten him. I also dug around in the small jewelry box I had that sat on my bedside table. When I found what I was looking for, I put them on and went back to the living room.

When I to back to the living room, I sat back down between Keith and KJ on the couch. I handed Keith the envelope when I sat down and picked up KJ and sat him down on my left leg and he leaned into me. As Keith took the card, he looked closely at my neck and my wrist. "I didn't know you still had those," he chuckled.

I had put on the heart locket and the blue string bracelet from when I was seventeen years old. I did still have them, but I didn't wear them as much as I did when I was a teenager. I had never been too big on jewelry, but I wore them occasionally. Of course, even though I really didn't wear jewelry, I always had on my wedding ring. Even though I didn't really wear anything else, I kept everything in that box that I did not want to lose, even a few things from nearly ten years ago.

"My card's not as spectacular as yours or KJ's," I chuckled, "But it's a nice cared, if I say so myself. I made it, but KJ didn't help me."

"Cause I made that one," KJ said and pointed to his.

Both of us chuckled and he read the card. As he continued to read it, the phone started to ring. **(A/N: ok, I never do this and I'm sorry, but I just want to say as I typed "the phone started to ring", my house phone started to ring and I found it creepy. Ok, read on.)** I got up to answer the call, KJ following behind me to see who was calling.

"Hello?" I said when I picked up the phone.

"_Rain? It's Candy,"_ I heard in her voice, _"Did I wake you guys up?"_

"No, don't worry, KJ beat ya to it."

"_Is he alright?"_

"Yeah, he's fine. He's just real excited today is Valentine's Day and he likes to wake up early, that's all. So what's up?"

"_I was just callin' to ask if we're all still on for dinner tonight?"_

It was decided that Soda and Candy and Keith and me would have some sort of double date for dinner. We were all going to a restaurant in town. It was somewhat new, but now new enough to be considered "brand new". None of us had ever been there, but Darry and Marilyn had gone there with Danny and Sandy and all four of them highly recommended it. Thankfully, they said it wasn't tuxedo and gown fancy, and kids were allowed.

"Yeah, we're still on," I answered her.

"_Great,_" she said, _"Cause me and Soda have to tell you somethin' and we wanna tell you in person."_

I let out a chuckle. "Alright then, we'll see you two tonight," I said then hung up.

I went back over to the couch and sat back down in my spot. Before I could say anything, he quickly kissed me before KJ looked up at us. "I love your card," he smiled. I smiled back then picked up KJ and brought him to his bedroom to get him ready for the day.

I went to the radio station in the afternoon like I did every day, excluding Saturday's and Sunday's unless there was some sort of event or contest. We had gotten new records and tracks to start playing the upcoming week, so both me and Andy had to stay a bit longer to sort through them and write them all down on the list of songs and records we had in the studio. The new records consisted of people like Elton John, David Bowie, Elvis Presley, Rod Stewart, Tom Jones and Billy Joel- not all the records were just released this year, a few were a few years old- which I liked. Then there was a Bob Dylan record, which totally killed the entire selection for me since I don't like Bob Dylan at all.

The struggles of working at a radio station: there will always be music by people you don't like cause you have to appeal to a shocking amount of people to get them to listen to the station. For me, one of those people were Bob Dylan.

Once five o'clock hit, Keith and I both got ready to meet Candy and Soda at the restaurant. I put on a pair of black dress pants and a whit button up blouse. I let my hair out and fall over my shoulders and back without curling it or straightening and left it natural- which wasn't unusual. I then changed KJ into a tiny pair of jeans and a red sweater.

Candy and Soda had gotten to the restaurant before the three of us and got a table. We all greeted each other and ordered our food. While we waited, we talked while KJ played with the toy car he had brought. "So, what'd you two have to tell us?" I asked.

"You two are the first to know," Soda smiled, "We thought it'd be best since you're like my sister and Candy's best friend, except me."

Keith made a face. "What am I? Chopped liver?" he asked.

"Yes," Soda joked.

"Aw, don't worry," I said to Keith, "KJ and I still love you." He smiled at that.

Candy looked at Soda. "Can I say it?" she asked him eagerly and he nodded. She smiled and looked at us, "We're having twins!"

Keith and I both smiled and congratulated the two, making KJ look up in alarm. I laughed, "Ok, don't take this the wrong way…"

"Ok…" Candy gave a weird face.

"But I knew you two would be the ones to end up having twins."

**Awwwwwwww cute.**

**Ok so I apologize about the author's note in the middle of the paragraph, but I had to say that**

**Also, I'm sorry if you like Bob Dylan and Rain doesn't. I kind of fashion Rain after me, and always have, ever since I first started "To Love A Greaser" and "Before the Love"- and I don't like Bob Dylan. I can't stand his music, he sounds stoned to me in every song of his and a song of his was in my literature book and I literally sat there like "What are these words? What the heck" so yeah. I apologize if it offends you, but I don't apologize for my dislike of Bob Dylan. By the way, the rest of the musicians I named, I all love- especially Elvis Presley and David Bowie (who have the same birthday! January 8, mark your calendars)**

**Anyway, hope you like the chapter and have a Happy Thanksgiving! =^-^=**


	23. May 16, 1975

_**May 16, 1975**_

"Mr. Wilson would like to talk to you two," Lina told me and Andy after the show ended. The two of us nodded nervously and started to our boss'- Mr. Wilson- office.

The fact that we had been called to Mr. Wilson's office was kind of nerve-wracking. The two of us had only been to his office twice in our lives, a total of four times between the two of us. The first time was our initial interviews for the job, the second time was to work out our contracts and schedules. The thing that made the whole situation scarier was that the two of us had messed up earlier in the week on the show.

Andy and I had gotten the _Young Americans_ album by David Bowie record at the beginning of the week. We were told to play the songs from it at certain times during a period of two weeks. We were supposed to play two songs from it on Monday, then one on Wednesday, then one on Friday- today. We then were supposed to play one the next Monday, then one the next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. By accident, we had played the whole album in one sitting.

"Do you think we're in trouble cause of the mess up on Monday?" I asked in a nervous tone as we walked down the hallway.

Andy shrugged a bit. "I don't have a clue," he answered, "Either way, it can't be too good. He _never_ calls anyone to his office, at least DJ's like us."

I scoffed a bit and rolled my eyes. "That's very comforting, thank you, Andy."

"Sorry…"

The two of us reached Mr. Wilson's office in five minutes. Andy knocked on the door of the office three times and we waited for some sort of sign to enter the office. When we heard "come in" from the opposite side of the door, Andy opened the door and the two of us walked in, making sure to close the door behind us. "You wanted to see us, sir?" I asked.

Mr. Wilson looked up from his papers and nodded. "Yes, I did," he answered and motioned to the two chairs placed in front of his desk," Won't you two sit down?" The two us both nodded and sat down in the two chairs. "You two are probably wondering why I called you in here," Mr. Wilson said, "Am I right?"

"Yeah, a bit," Andy answered a bit nervously.

"Look, I can tell you two are nervous. But calm down, I didn't ask you two to come in here for something to be nervous about. I promise."

I gave a confused look. "Then what's this 'bout then?" I asked curiously.

"I've been doing a lot thinking lately, since Dan Jeptha and Molly Meyers are retiring from the morning show. I think since they're leaving, we need some fresh, young blood to pick up the show. Don't you think?"

Andy and I both shrugged unsurely. "Uh, sure," Andy answered skeptically.

"Great. Cause after some thought about who I should get to take over the show, I thought that you two would be perfect."

"Are you serious?" I asked, a shocked expression finding its way to my face.

Mr. Wilson nodded. "You're both young, what, early to mid-twenties, right? You two have a better idea of new music. Rain, the fact that your husband and your sons and the rest of your family mean so much to you at such a young age, it's a great image for a radio show. Andy, your knowledge of film and music is perfect, and you're both funny. You two are perfect."

The three of us were there for another hour discussing what our new schedule would be like. Andy and I would have to be at the station by 7:45 to 7:55 in the morning. The show would start at eight o'clock in the morning and would be until eleven o'clock in the morning, which is when the next show would start. We'd have to talk a bit more than we usually did in between songs in the afternoon. We'd also be starting the upcoming week.

After we finished talking with Mr. Wilson, we both left the station. When I walked outside, I saw Keith standing outside the truck in the parking lot. The passenger's side door was open and KJ sat there playing with a figurine of Fonzie from _Happy Days_, but looked up when he heard me and smiled. I smiled and ran to the car. 'What're you two doin' here?" I asked with a smile.

Keith smiled. "Lina called and said we should come by cause you and Andy were called into your boss' office and she didn't have a clue why," he answered.

I leaned down on the ground in front of KJ. "Hi, KJ," I smiled, then looked back up at Keith, "And yeah, we were called in."

"How'd it go?"

"I got promoted! I'm doing the morning show now!"

He smiled. "Rain, that's great! What times are you gonna be on?"

"From eight in the morning till eleven. It's the show right before the afternoon show I would do. I'd be getting paid more what I make now, I'd be able to meet and interview more singers and band members, and even some actors and directors since the station is popular all over the state and bit out. But I would have to help at one event every month but my boss said you and KJ could come."

"Look at you," he smiled, "You're like a local celebrity, you know that?"

I scoffed and picked up KJ and put him in his car seat, doing things to make him giggle the whole time. "I don't think so," I said as I got into the passenger's seat in the front of the truck.

"No, you are. I mean, your radio station is the most popular in the whole state. The afternoon program that you did is the third most popular listened to in the state. You know the first and second, don't ya?"

"Of course I do. The morning show and the late afternoon show."

"Exactly."

"But the morning show was still Dan Jeptha and Molly Meyers. When Andy and I take over, it could go completely downhill for all we know."

Keith chuckled a bit. "Why do you always think so low of yourself, Rain? Or think the worst of something?" he asked.

I shrugged. "You tell me," I answered, "You're the one who proposed to me and decided to deal with it."

He laughed. "It's always somethin' different with you, I can say that much."

He continued toward the direction of the house and he stopped in front of it on the curb of the sidewalk. We both got out of the car and I opened the door to the backseat. I picked up KJ and took him out of his car seat and carried him to the house. He kept his right arm clinging to my shoulders as his left arm flew through the air with Fonzie from _Happy Days_ in his hand. When the three of us got inside, I placed him down and he ran over to the coffee table where he had his current setup.

The setup on the coffee table was made up of hot wheels, toy soldiers, legos and wooden blocks- pretty much all of his toys except for a few stuffed bears on his bed. He had them all set up in this elaborate setup. It was actually really impressive, especially for a boy his age. Everything had a place and it was set up specifically for whatever was in his head. When all of his attention was on the setup, I had snuck a picture of him playing with the whole thing… call me "doting mother", I don't care. It's cute.

I started to think that I had become like Soda. I had started to take a lot of pictures ever since KJ had been born. I don't why I had started to do that, thought. We had both a Polaroid 600 and an SLR camera. Those two were the same types of cameras we used when we were younger, so those were the only two cameras I really knew how to use. It's not that I was too lazy to learn how to use another camera, but more so I didn't really have the time.

"I meant to tell you," Keith started, "Soda, Steve and me were talkin' 'bout opening our own garage. Remember I told you 'bout that?"

"Oh, yeah, I do," I nodded, "How's that goin'?"

"Well, we got pretty much everything figured out to do it, but now we gotta find a building. I was telling Rusty about it before I drove to the radio station to get you this morning. I told him our plans and everything else. Then he told me how he wants to retire, but he doesn't wanna close down his garage. He also said that his daughter is moving out of state with her husband so they can't take it up."

"Ok…"

"So, he said he wants to give it to the three of us. He's known me for years and he knows Soda and Steve and he wants to give it to the three of us to use to open a garage. That way he doesn't have to close the garage either."

I smiled. "So you three are really gonna take over the garage for him?" I asked.

Keith nodded. "Yeah," he answered with a smile, "The four of us are gonna do all the paperwork next week. Everything should be taken care of by this time next month."

**What's up? I apologize for the (what feels like to me) long wait on this update. I've been very busy lately with school and the holidays so I will hopefully get one more update in before Christmas break.**

**Oh, so last Friday I was at church for youth group and my youth leaders decided to take us all outside to the service for the special Hanukkah service (my church is Messianic Jewish, which is basically Christian- which I am and my family celebrates both Hanukkah and Christmas) and they sang Jewish songs and we got to light candles and me and my three friends were like, "the only place we're allowed to play with fire is church on Hanukkah and Christmas Eve!" we were so happy, but then some lady lit her own candle with a lighter instead of fire from my pastor's menorah and my one friend kept saying "she has heathen fire. We have heathen fire, oh my gahd." It was funny, you had to be there.**

**Also, Hanukkah started this past Sunday night so if you celebrate it like I do- HAPPY HANUKKAH! Tonight's the third night!**

**Also, who here has heard about President Jerry Falwell at Liberty University's decision about letting students carry a concealed weapon on campus for self-defense? How many of you agree with it? Now, I do my online high school (I don't go to a regular high school anymore, I left two years ago and have been doing Liberty University Online Academy since) there and my online college courses (I'm a junior, it's expected) and I wanna go there for college. I support his decision 100 percent. **

**Anyway, peace from all the hippies of the world! =^-^=**


	24. May 19, 1975

_**May 19, 1975**_

I grimaced at the sound of my alarm of my clock radio. _Rockin' Pneumonia- Boogie Woogie Flu_ by Johnny Rivers was playing. I let out an annoyed groan and hit the off button. I looked at the clock and looked at the time… 6:06 in the morning. I let out another groan, sat up and got out of the bed.

The one thing I hated about doing the morning show was I had to get up early every day, Monday through Friday. When I had decided to get up at 6:05 every morning, I had gotten worried that I wouldn't be able to spend time with Keith or KJ in the morning like I always did. Then I remembered the KJ always woke up around7:05 and Keith at the same time because if he _wasn't _awake by then, KJ would come into the bedroom and wake him up.

And thankfully, I wouldn't leave for the radio station until 7:40.

I got out of bed, which caused Keith to wake up. "Rain?" he asked in a tired voice as he woke up, "That you?"

I let out a slight chuckle. "Yeah, it's me," I smiled, "Did I wake you up?"

He chuckled and turned to face me. "You, maybe just a bit. It don't matter though, cause KJ's just gonna wake me up anyhow."

"Well yeah, but that's not for another hour. Just cause I'm up don't mean you have to get up too, ya know."

"I'll get up anyway. I have to meet with Stev, Soda, Rusty and some social worker or somethin' to work out the paperwork for the garage."

I let out a slight chuckle and left the room and walked over to KJ's room. I slightly opened the door of his room and poked my head in between the door and its frame. When I saw that he was still asleep, I have a tired smile and left the room, making sure to leave the door slightly open.

I walked back to the bedroom and to my dresser. Keith wasn't in the room so I guess that maybe he was somewhere else in the house… good guess, huh?

I grabbed a pair of blue jeans, a light purple button up and a tank top out of the drawers- for some reason, I always felt more comfortable wearing a tank top under my shirts. I then went over to my closet and pulled out my black vest. I laid out all the clothes on my side of the bed- after making the bed, of course- then walked to the bathroom quickly to take a shower.

Once I got out of the shower, I dried my hair with a towel. I quickly got changed into the clothes I left laid out on the bed. I glanced at the clock and it said 6:50 in the morning. I then went over to the mirror and combed out my hair, deciding to leave it out. "I need a haircut," I mumbled to myself as I ran my hand through my hair. I slipped on my booths, laced the up, then ran back to the bathroom so that I could brush my hair.

I then went to the kitchen to start making breakfast, but stopped when I got there, seeing that Keith and Mrs. Mathews were in there already making breakfast. When she saw me, she smiled. "Good morning," Mrs. Mathews said with her smile still in place.

I smiled back. "Uh, hi," I said in a confused tone, "I don't mean to sound like a jerk or nothin', but what're you doin' here?"

"I figured since you both had important things for your careers today, I'd come by to help you two around ruing the morning today."

"Aw, that's so sweet, thank you. But now I feel bad."

She rolled her eyes and laughed. "Well, don't."

Keith teasingly raised his hand and spoke up. "Rain, just so you know, its 7:05, so KJ is gonna be looking for us," he said, "Just thought I should say that."

I nodded and let out a laugh. Mrs. Mathews gestured for us to go to the room where KJ was asleep. The two of us nodded and walked out toward KJ's bedroom. When we got there, the bedroom door was still slightly open like I had left it. He opened the door wider so we both could walk inside the room. When we got inside, he kneeled down in front of the head of the bed so he was even with where KJ was and I sat down on the edge of the bed where his feet were.

KJ was starting to wake up when we had walked into the room. By the time we got to him, he was awake. "Hey buddy," Keith smiled and said in a quiet voice.

KJ's smiled was already in place as he used one of his arms to prop himself up. "Hi Daddy," he smiled and then turned to me, smile still in place, "Hi Mama."

It felt weird sometimes when KJ would call me Mama. Don't get me wrong, I love him more than anything else- along with Keith obviously- but it did feel weird once in a while. The reason for that I think, is because once I turned eighteen years old, I didn't really feel like an "adult". Apparently, that's not unusual and everyone I know said that the same exact thing happened with them. SO I figured since I didn't feel different once I became legal, maybe that's why it felt weird sometimes.

Keith left the room when his mother called for him- just cause he was an adult and married doesn't mean you stop listening to your mother when she calls you- and I stayed in KJ's room. When he got out of the bed, I helped him get ready for the day. He pretty much did everything on his own, only with me helping a bit. I helped button anything that needed buttoning, tying laces or strings, combed his hair and a bit with brushing his teeth.

We all met back in the kitchen. KJ walked with me, his small hand in mine. KJ smiled when he saw Mrs. Mathews, and she smiled right back. He started to run over to her and she met him halfway and picked him up and started to do little things to make him smile and giggle. Of course, that then made me and Keith chuckle.

Around 7:35, I left the house for the radio station. I got thee at 7:45, which was the same time as Andy. I literally drove into the parking light right after he did. The two of us greeted each other and walked into the building as quickly as we could- but not without greeting Lina on the way inside.

When the two of us got inside the station, Mr. Wilson stood there with the head technician, Phil Rogers. I always like Phil. He was the main technician for the studio during every show in case something went wrong. Unfortunately, he wasn't in the week before during the whole _Young Americans_ incident- yet Andy and I were still promoted somehow, so we tried to put that behind us.

I took about five minutes to get the studio set up and ready to go on the air with the click of a button. Phil knew we knew how to run our section of the board, but he still went over it with us saying, "It's early on a Monday morning, you can never be too safe."

When there was only a minute left till the DJ's shift change at eight o'clock, Phil went to his part of the studio and Andy and I got settled in our part. Phil gave us his countdown as the two of us put on our headphones. He signaled for us to start after the ten second countdown. The two of us heard the introduction that was played every half hour through the headphones, which officially signaled that we were on the air.

"Good morning, Oklahoma," Andy started in his radio voice, "This is Andy Brown."

"And this is Rain Mathews," I said.

"For those listening, you're probably aware that Dan Jeptha and Molly Meyers planned to retire and that their last day was last Friday. You might also know that me and Rain usually do that afternoon show."

"It's sad to say that the two of them are officially retired. The two of us though, have been assigned to take over their time."

"We'll be here every morning from eight to eleven to help you get through your morning and traffic and taking your calls and playing your favorite songs."

"Yes," I smiled, "With that, why don't we get to the real reason you're listening- to hear some music. We're gonna start off our first morning show with _It's Only Rock and Roll_ by the Rolling Stones." Andy pressed the button that would start the song and turn off our microphones and we took off our headphones.

"That was a great start you two," Mr. Wilson smiled and walked into the studio.

This continued until our shift was over a few hours later. Every fifteen minutes or so, Andy I would have to make little conversations. We pretty much talked about anything from music- obviously- to movies to the latest in current news and politics. Along the way, we had to make little comments about it that might be considered funny.

All in all, I'd say that the first morning show we did went well. People are allowed to call during the show, and a few people did. Most of the people who called even complimented us on how well Andy and were doing with the show. They said that they would continue listening every morning during the week. Mrs. Mathews had even called at one point with KJ to say how good we were doing. She let KJ talk a bit, which Mr. Wilson liked. People called after that saying how cute he sounded.

I had a good feeling about now working the morning show, even more so than when I started doing the afternoon show.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I smiled and waved to Andy as I walked to my car to drive home.

**Awwww the little parts with KJ. I honestly love KJ, he's my favorite. I love his character and how I'm gonna make him be as he grows up- you're totally gonna love him, you'll wanna marry him I know it.**

**It's almost the new year- 1976 XD (get it, cause the story is currently taking place in 1975). The next chapter will probably be August or September, or when Candy and Soda have their twins XD so yeah, should be fun**

**I've figured out that I'll be updating my stories every other week so the next update will be after the new year so- Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I'll most likely have another story up on fanfiction. Net, and that one and an imagine/preference thing on wattpad. I've been wanting to write an outsiders imagine and preferences thing lately, so that'll be that. And another expendables story on both sites cause I miss writing stuff like that and someone on wattpad helped me with their opinion of my plot so yay- and it helps that I finally bought at least the first one on DVD. Is it smart to be working on 6 different things at once? Maybe not, but I'm gonna try.**

**Anyway- merry Christmas and happy new year! =^-^=**


	25. September 4, 1975

_**September 4, 1975**_

I placed my hand against my forehead as I shut my eyes and let out a sigh. I fell back onto the couch and slumped down as far as I could into the corner of the couch. I jumped slightly when I felt the cushions of the couch move and my eyes snapped open when I felt that someone sat down on the couch too.

I looked to see who the other person was and it was Keith. He motioned with his hand for me to join in and that I could lean against him, and I hesitantly agreed. "Do ya feel _any_ better since Tuesday?" he asked softly.

It was not the third day that I felt as bad as I did. I was thankful that I'd gotten sick the day _after_ KJ's third birthday, so I didn't ruin it at all. The thing was, I still felt terrible- physically, I mean. I hadn't gone to a doctor yet and quite frankly, I didn't want to one. I never liked going to the doctor, and since Mrs. Mathews was a nurse, I didn't always have to- which I kinda preferred.

"No, not really," I mumbled and shut my eyes again.

I felt him press the palm of his hand against my forehead in three different positions. "What's weird is that your head ain't hot at all," he said in a slightly confused tone, "And it hasn't at all for the past couple days."

"Well, your mom's comin' over today, right?"

"Yeah, she is."

"If you're so worried, just ask her what might be wrong. She is a registered nurse, so there's a good chance that she knows what's wrong."

"Alright… and by the way, I called the radio station for you to tell them you can't come in again cause you're still sick."

I managed a small smile. "Thank you."

Keith left a little while after that. I waited for Mrs. Mathews on the couch, kinda just sitting there. I had the radio on to see- or more like here- what the track line up was for the morning show. I honestly thought it was a good selection: George Harrison, Styx, Elton John, Queen and a few others. All in all, I thought that it was a good selection of music- both vocally and instrumentally.

Hey, even though I'm not a musician, I still have to focus on those two things. You do in unconsciously after a while.

I guess I'd fallen asleep, due to the fact that I nearly jumped outta my skin and off the couch when I heard someone knock on the door. I let myself calm down when I heard Mrs. Mathews call through the door that it was her. I was happy that we'd given her a key, cause I really didn't feel like getting up to open the door. It's not that I didn't want to open the door for her in general, it's just that I felt that terrible.

I heard the door open and close and Mrs. Mathews entered my point of view. She set her bag and light jacket against the edge of the couch like she always did and sat in the armchair that was closest to where I was on the couch. When I looked up at her, she had a comforting smile on her face and I couldn't help but give her a small smile back. "I heard you're still not feeling well," she said in a soft tone. The way she was talking kinda made me feel like I was back in the nurses office at school in junior high, but I didn't find it annoying from her- it was comforting.

I nodded slowly. "That's correct," I mumbled as I sat up on the couch, "Today's the third day I've felt this sick?"

"Do you remember any other time you've felt this sick before?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Alright," she said quietly, "I'm gonna let you rest for a little while, alright?"

"Ok… and just to be sure, KJ is with Keilah today, right?"

She gave me a small smile, nodded, got up from her seat and left the room.

I kinda felt bad that I wasn't completely sure when KJ was at first. I had kinda been trying not to get to close to him for the past two days since I was sick, and I didn't want to get him sick. I had been trying to distance myself from everyone since I got sick cause I didn't want to get anyone else sick.

It also made me feel a bit better knowing KJ was with Keilah. She was really good with him, which didn't actually shock me too much, but it was definitely a nice thought. The fact that he got along great with his only biological aunt would always be a nice thought to remember. At least to me it was. I mean, cause there's always a possibility that someone won't like their aunt- I had one when I was younger, and I didn't like her.

I guessed that I'd fallen asleep again because the next thing I remember is jumping at the sound of the phone. Mrs. Mathews came into the room to answer it but I told her that I would since it had already woke me up. "Hello?" I asked in an unintentional tired tone.

"_Hey Rain,"_ I heard in Candy's voice.

"Hey Candy, how ya feelin' lately?"

"_I'm doin' ok. Soda won't let me do anything, so does dying of boredom and starting to become stir crazy count as doing ok?"_

That managed to make me laugh. "You know he has good intentions."

"_Yeah, I know. Anyway, how're you feeling? I know you haven't been feeling too hot since the day after KJ's birthday."_

"Honestly, I feel terrible. I haven't felt this terrible in years?"

"_When was the last time then that you felt as terrible?"_

"I don't know when exactly. I just know I was already married, but KJ wasn't born yet."

"_Aw, I'm sorry. I wish I could see you, maybe try to make you feel better. I mean, you're my best friend, it's my job to do that."_

"Well, I appreciate, but you can't. You definitely can't get sick at this point."

"_You sounded like Soda when you said that," _she chuckled, _"It's weird."_

"Well, realize that I've known the guy for nearly twenty years of my life, which is about ten years more than you," I joked.

"_You just made me feel old, Rain."_

The two of us stayed on the phone for another hour or so. We hadn't seen each other in a while, so we mostly caught up on events. The reason we hadn't seen each other was due to the fact that she was due soon and Soda wanted her just to rest. Nothing else. If you knew Candy as long as I did, she could never do that- that's why they were just like each other. I had planned on visiting her during the week, but once I got sick, that plan was quickly shot down as if it were a duck during duck season.

Once I had gotten off the phone with Candy, Mrs. Mathews came back into the room. She had a large book in her hand with a bookmark on multiple pages. She sat down next to me on the couch and set the book down on the coffee table. When I looked at the book cover, I saw that it was one of those medical books that had every currently known illness and everything about them in between the pages.

I looked at Mrs. Mathews with a confused look. "We have one of those?" I asked curiously.

"I gave it to my son when you had KJ," she answered nonchalantly, "Anyway, I've been going through the book and I've narrowed down the possibilities of what you have to, I think, three things."

"Ok… so what are they?"

"Well, based off your symptoms, I have a pretty good idea what it is. But I wanna see if you remember any other time you felt this sick. Cause you said over the phone a little while ago that you were already married, but KJ wasn't born yet."

"Mrs. Mathews, I really appreciate this, but can't you just tell me-"

"Trust me."

I let out a slight sigh and nodded. I then did as she said, and tried to remember any other time I'd felt this bad before.

I'd sat there trying to remember the specific time I'd felt like I did for nearly ten minutes. I'd given up three times due to the fact that it was starting to make my head hurt even more than it already did. Mrs. Mathews just kept telling me to try and remember. When I finally did remember, you should've seen the look on my face. My reaction was something straight out of an Abbott and Costello act- more like the Lou Costello half, but you get what I mean.

"Do you remember?" Mrs. Mathews asked, obviously trying to hold back a smile.

Opposite from her, I let my smile show. "Yeah," I nodded, "Yeah, I do." I got up from my seat on the couch and started toward the bedroom.

"Where're you going?" she called out from the other room.

"I have to go to the store right away."

"I thought you were still feeling sick?"

I smiled and let out a laugh. "I'm feeling a lot better."

I quickly changed into a pair of jeans, a tank top, and a plain blue t-shirt. I slipped on a pair of converse sneakers and tied up the laces. Once I finished getting dressed, I went to comb out my hair again and everything else I had to do. Once I finished everything, I left the house and drove to the closest store in the area.

I ended up going to the pharmacy in town, bought what I needed and drove back to the house as fast as I could without breaking the law on the speed limit. All of this took a total of ten to fifteen minutes due to my urgency. Once I got back to the house, I quickly ran inside and to the bathroom. I feel my hands start to shake out of nervousness.

A few minutes later, my hands were still shaking. I picked up the test slowly, my eyes closed. Mrs. Mathews now stood in the doorway and waited, except she probably wasn't as nervous as I was at the moment. "So what does it say?" she asked curiously.

I let out a breath, opened my eyes and looked down. When I did, I felt myself start to smile. "It's positive," I chuckled.

I looked at Mrs. Mathews, who was smiling too. "It is?"

"Yeah, it does. KJ's gonna be a big brother!" 

**Aw, cute :3**

**The next chapter is gonna be KJ's first day of preschool X3 also, just so you know, at the beginning I said that Tuesday was at this point three days earlier- I literally go on google images, search the month and year I'll be writing in for the next chapter, and look up the date I want and see what day of the week it was/will be. **

**I like be accurate ok? I have OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) with these sorts of these things. I do that with songs and movies too for these things. I make sure I'm right about when they were released and if they did or didn't exist at certain points. My two best friends say it's good that I like to be so accurate, and I trust them so yay.**

**So yeah, I'm going to Alice's Teacup this Sunday in New York City with my two best friends and their family for one of my best friend's birthday :3 she's turning 22 (yes I have a best friend who's six years older than me)**

**Anyway, hope you like the chapter. Peace from all the hippies of the world! =^-^=**


	26. September 8, 1975

_**September 8, 1975**_

I tied my hair back into a ponytail as I walked out from the bathroom. I then walked down the hallway to KJ's bedroom, opening the door slowly so it wouldn't make a loud _creak _sound. I moved slowly and leaned down at the head of KJ's bed as he started to stir awake. He started to sit up a bit as he woke up and rubbed his eyes.

"Mornin', KJ," I said with a small smile and in a soft tone.

"Hi, Mama," KJ yawned.

"You ready for your first day of preschool?"

He perked up at that and nodded. "Yeah!"

Since KJ had just turned three, he was able to enroll in the preschool with Mariah. The fact that his birthday was right at the beginning of September, he was right on the birth date cutoff date. He would be in the same class and grade as Mariah since they were born during the same year, which of course made them both happy. That way, since they'd most likely be in the same schools as they grew up, they'd always have someone they knew.

KJ got out of bed and went over to the dresser in the corner of his room. I got up off the floor and over to the dresser with him. When we got there, I pulled out his socks, jeans, underwear, t-shirt undershirt, and a long sleeve shirt. I then helped KJ change out of his pajamas and into his clothes, then grabbed his sneakers and helped him out them on.

I'd taken the day off so I could be there for his first day of preschool. I'd already three shows the week before due to "sickness", so I figured my son's first day of preschool should be a more important reason to miss another show. The previous Friday, I didn't really feel as bad as I had been, but I still called in sick. I had used the day to go to the doctor to see how far along I was.

It would be the last day- for now, at least- that I take off. I'd be going back in for the next morning show.

Once I finished helping KJ get ready, I picked him up and walked to the kitchen. I placed him down gently in his seat and jumped when I heard Mrs. Mathews. "Good morning," she greeted with a chuckle.

I let out a breath as I took a small bowl from the cabinet along with a box of cereal. "Good morning," I chuckled, "And please _don't_ make that such a habit for 'bout a year? That'd be great."

"Yeah, sorry," she shrugged, "I kinda forgot."

I gave a weird smile. "You forgot that I'm having another baby? That seems almost impossible for you."

She chuckled again. "It's still early, Rain. I'm not that young anymore, my brain isn't as functional in the morning as yours might be. Anyway, did you tell him yet?"

I placed the bowl of cereal in front of KJ on the table. "After we drop off KJ at preschool, we were planning on going to some new diner near the school or somethin', so I was gonna tell him then."

"Tell who, what?" we herd from behind us then turned around and saw it was Keith. He was in his jeans but still putting on his shirt.

"To tell Andy why I wasn't in the past couple a' days and such," I lied.

For the remainder of the morning before the three of us left the house, we were all kind of anxious. Mrs. Mathews had already left at that point, but not without making sure she told me to tell her when I told him. But when it was just me, Keith and KJ in the house, thoughts on possible scenarios of anything that could go wrong at the preschool our heads- except for KJ, of course.

The three of us left the house and got to the preschool around 8:30. Keith and I got out of the car and he went to the backseat and helped KJ out of his car seat. I took his small backpack- which held crayons, some pencils, safety scissors, glue and an extra pair of clothes- and his equally small lunch bag out from the car and we started toward the school. As we walked, I could see Darry and Marilyn with Mariah and DT at the entrance.

"Hey there," I said with a smile as we walked up to the four of them. I saw both KJ and Mariah smile when they saw each other.

"Hi," Marilyn smiled back, "I hoped I'd see you both here, considering you haven't been feeling good, Rain."

"Yeah, how are you feeling lately?" Darry asked in the same way as when we were all teenagers.

I shrugged a bit. "I'm doin' alright."

"You're also nervous for today, I know that," Keith whispered to me, making me start to chuckle.

As the four of us talked, one of the preschool teachers walked by. She greeted us, making sure to introduce herself to us and Mariah and KJ. She also told us that all the children had to be inside by 8:50. When we saw that it was 8:45, we decided to talk to KJ. "Ready for your first day, KJ?" I asked and helped him put on his backpack.

KJ smiled and nodded. "You're gonna come, Mama?" he asked, "And you too, Daddy?"

Keith and I exchanged unsure looks. "Well, we can't," I said gently and took his small hand in my own, "Me and Daddy aren't gonna go in with you."

"Why not?" KJ frowned.

"Well," Keith started, "Preschool isn't for adults like Mama and me. It's for little boys and girls like you and Mariah. We won't be with you, but she'll still be here with you, too."

"And we're gonna come back for you in a little while." I pushed back a few strands of KJ's dirty blonde hair- which was definitely not from me- from in front of his face.

"So you're gonna go away, but come back soon?" KJ asked in a hopeful tone. When we both nodded, he smiled.

After a few more minutes of telling KJ how we'd be back soon to get him, the teachers told everyone all the kids had to go inside. The whole time through, I started to believe that the preschool was a bit more sophisticated than I'd been led to believe, and I knew that Keith had the same thought running through his head. But in all honesty, as long as KJ didn't come home a little Shakespeare at three years old, I think the school would be alright.

Keith and I went to a diner after we dropped off KJ like we had agreed we would. It was some new place that had just opened by the high school. It wasn't crowded there, probably because it was still pretty early in the morning or most people were already at work, but I liked it just fine the way it was.

After we both ordered something to eat, I decided to tell him. "I meant to tell you," I started, "I went to the doctor on Friday to see what was wrong."

"You did?" Keith asked curiously.

"Yeah, last Friday after you left for the garage."

"Oh, alright. So, what'd the doctor say was wrong with you?"

"Nothin'."

He gave a confused look. "What?"

"_Technically,_ there's nothing wrong with me."

"I… I don't get what you're sayin' here, Rain."

"What was so called _wrong_ with me, it was morning sickness."

"Now he really looked worried. "Morning sickness? Morning sickness from what?"

I let out a chuckle. "Ok, I know it's still early, but you're so oblivious sometimes," I laughed, "I'm pregnant. We're having another baby."

"You're… you're," he stuttered slightly "You're pregnant?" When I nodded, a smile formed on his face.

"This week is five weeks," I smiled, then bit down on the edge of my lip.

We left the diner a little after that. Keith had gone back to the garage that he now co-owned with Sodapop and Steve, while I decided to spend the rest of the morning with Mrs. Mathews. When he drove me back to her house, I made sure to tell him _not_ to tell anyone yet how I was pregnant. I wanted to wait until everything calmed down with Candy and Soda.

"So you told him?" Mrs. Mathews asked eagerly.

I chuckled. "Yes, I told him," I smiled, "But we're not gonna tell anyone else yet."

"Why not?"

"Well, Candy's due soon so we're gonna wait till everything calms down with her and Soda."

"Makes sense," she said with a shrug.

I stayed with her until Keith came back to the house so we could go back to the preschool to pick up KJ. When we got there, a car pulled up right next to ours. I laughed when I saw that the people who got out of the car was Darry and Marilyn with DT. The four of us all walked to the door together and waited for KJ and Mariah.

When KJ walked out of the building behind the teacher- with Mariah, as well, of course- he smiled brightly and ran over to us. When he reached us, I bent down and he jumped onto me, nearly knocking me down. Keith gave me questioning look, silently asking me if I was ok and I nodded, putting him at ease. He then leaned down next to me with KJ.

"How was your first day of preschool, sweetheart?" I asked KJ with a smile.

"It was fun!" he answered with a smile, "Can I come back tomorrow, Mama?"

**I honestly love those little parts with KJ. I wasn't fully disappointed with this chapter so yay.**

**So I think I mentioned about Alice's Teacup for my best friend's birthday last time I updated, we ended up taking a rain check- literally. But then that Friday (January ) we went to NYC for my mom's birthday- we went up to all nine floors of the Macy's in Herald Square!**

**Anyway, I'll be starting another new story soon, so five at once- wish me luck. It's gonna be for **_**The Expendables**_** trilogy (so far, a trilogy, there's rumors about a fourth one coming up). So yeah.**

**Also- Rest in Peace, David Bowie. I've heard your music nearly all my life and it's hard to believe you're gone. I remember imitating the word Fame in "Fame" with my mom ever since I was three or four years old, years before I would become a fan of yours. And always love seeing the quote at the beginning of **_**The Breakfast Club**_** from "Changes". You are missed by many different age groups, and have affected us all.**

**Alright- peace from all the hippies of the world. =^-^=**


	27. September 19, 1975

_**September 19, 1975**_

"C'mon, we gotta tell everyone," I said frantically as I slipped my arms through my cardigan and picked up KJ from his spot on the couch.

"It's weird bein' the first to know for once," Keith said as he turned off the lights in the house, "It'll be easier to call everyone from the hospital."

We had gotten a phone call around twelve in the afternoon from Soda. He said that Candy and him were at the hospital. He was all anxious and excited and could barely explain why they were there, at least in an understandable way. Being the first ones to be called was exciting but it was also nerve-wracking due to the fact that the responsibility of calling everyone is then placed on your shoulders. It wasn't so bad, but Candy had a large family, so that would've made it difficult. When we asked over the phone about it, Soda said that we only had to call her parents and that they would tell everyone the next day.

Keith and I decided that we'd call everyone form the hospital. That way, we could use two phones at the same time instead of only one house number, so then we could get to everyone quicker and easier.

It took about ten minutes to get to the hospital. When we got there, we went straight to the payphones right outside the front entrance doors. Keith would be calling Darry and Marilyn, Ponyboy and Cherry, and Steve and Evie. I would be calling Danny and Sandy and Candy's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ramos.

Ponyboy and Cherry had managed a long distance relationship very well. By now, they were back at the University of Tulsa. Ponyboy was able to graduate a bit early cause of the class schedule he chose to take and the fact that he got all his college credits and even more than he needed to graduate. Cherry was graduating the upcoming year due to the fact that she was working toward her doctorate, considering she was aiming to be a pediatrician instead of her original plan to become a full time cosmetologist. She had still gotten her diploma for that, but she decided after that to become a doctor.

"It really is weird to be the first ones, huh?" I asked a bit restlessly as we got into the elevator.

Keith nodded and looked at KJ, who was asleep on my shoulder since it was the time he'd usually be taking a nap. "I think I speak for all of us here," he said, "It sure is more tiring than it seems."

"I can agree with that."

"You doin' ok?" he asked me unsurely.

"Yeah, I'm fine. And you can't ask that when we're with everyone, so remember that. I'll tell you if I'm not ok."

"So we're still not telling them all yet, right?"

I shook my head. "Not yet," I answered, "In at least a week or two. Cause by then, everything will be calm."

He nodded in understanding. "So the only people who know is the doctor, my mom, Keilah, me and you?" he asked and I nodded.

The elevator bell rang and the doors opened on the floor we were told Candy was on. We asked one of the nurses at the nurse's station where her room was and which number room she was in. She told us the room number and how to get there. We thanked her quickly and then went in the direction she told us in search of the number room she had told us.

As we turned the corner of the hallway, we saw Soda talking with a doctor. By the time we got to the room, the doctor had walked away and Soda stood waiting for us. "Hey," Keith greeted when we reached Soda.

"Everything goin' alright?" I asked quietly so I didn't wake up KJ, who was still asleep on my shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, she's fine," Soda answered, "I mean, as fine as she can be right now, ya know? Anyway, you guys called everyone? And her parents?"

I nodded. "Everyone has been called and they all said that they'll be here soon."

Ten minutes later, everyone started coming in. The first to come was Mr. and Mrs. Ramos, which didn't shock me at all since they're Candy's parents. Five minutes later, Dandy and Marilyn came with Mariah and DT. Another five minutes later, Steve and Evie came running down the corridor to the room. Another five minutes passed, and Ponyboy and Cherry came around the corner of the hallway. The last to arrive was Danny and Sandy with Lucy, who was now seven years old.

As everyone arrived, I felt myself start to feel sick. I knew it was from running around and getting stressed out about calling everyone. I walked over to Keith and handed him KJ- who had just woken up recently- over to him. He gave me a weird look. "You alright?" he asked worriedly, "You look kinda pale."

I nodded a bit. "Uh, yeah," I answered quickly, "I just have to use the bathroom, that's all." I raised my eyebrows a bit and he nodded knowingly.

Five minutes later, I heard the bathroom door open as I washed my hands. I cleared my throat to try and regain my composure before looking over my shoulder and saw Marilyn with Mariah and DT. I finished washing my hand and smiled at her and she did the same. She helped Mariah up on the bench in the bathroom and laid DT down on the changing table. "Hey," she smiled, "Are you feelin' alright?"

I quickly nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" I asked.

"Cause the color still hasn't fully returned to your face, that's why."

I felt my heart start to beat a little faster, hoping maybe that would help my face get its color back quicker. "Oh, that's just cause we were runnin' around to get here and call all of you guys."

It wasn't easy trying to convince Marilyn that I was alright. Considering she was the oldest- at least of the girls- and she knew how we all were from being around us all for so long. When we were teenagers, Darry was the adult over all of us and who we all went to. Once we had all gotten comfortable with Marilyn, that made life easier for the girls so then it wouldn't be as awkward saying if something was wrong. Cause of this, she had gained knowledge about how we were with certain things rather quickly. It had been that way since about 1967 or 1968.

Not to mention that fact that I'm not always the best liar with certain things.

I left the bathroom with Marilyn, who seemed to slightly believe that I was alright. As we walked, she held DT in her arms and I held Mariah's hand. By then, thankfully, all the color had come back to my face. When we got back to everyone, Mariah ran to Darry as fast as she possibly could and giggled as he picked her up. I smiled and went over to Keith and KJ, who was sitting in a chair playing with his stuffed bear that he'd been hugging when he was sleeping.

I had actually made a stuffed teddy bear, can you believe that? I had asked Mrs. Mathews for help since I didn't really know how to sew, and she had helped me with the cutouts and stuff like that- but we made him a bear. It wasn't too big, but it wasn't small either. The only reason it looked huge when KJ held it was because he was still pretty small. It was a gift for his third birthday, and he hadn't let it out of his grasp since, except for when he went to preschool- where he'd left it in the car so he wouldn't get messed up at school. He named the bear 'Teddy'.

As I walked over to Keith, he mouthed, "You ok?"

I gave a weak smile and nodded as I sat down in one of the chairs, picking up KJ and placing him down on my lap. "Yeah, I'm fine," I answered, then whispered, "But Marilyn was suspicious."

"Are you sick, Mama?" KJ asked when he heard my words.

I smiled at him. "No, baby, I'm not sick." He smiled, nodded, then went back to his bear.

The rest of us stood around in the hallway and talked, trying to remain patient. Once three o'clock hit, we all took turns going to the hospital cafeteria. Keith and I went with KJ at the same time as Danny and Sandy went with Lucy, and Darry and Marilyn went with Mariah and Dt.

The whole time we were in the cafeteria, Marilyn kept trying to sneak outta me whether or not something was wrong with me; it wasn't in a mean way, more a concerned way. The only way I was able to get around her questions was either when someone else at the table started a new conversation, or when KJ needed something. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't nearly crack once or twice- but somehow, I didn't say a word.

Another hour and a half later, nurses were coming in and out of Candy's room. The doctor came out and I hid my face, cause apparently, it was the same doctor who confirmed to me that I was pregnant, and I didn't want her to say anything. After about five minutes, all the nurses left and one told us all that we could all see Candy by two's. Of course, her parents went first; Keith, me and KJ went last.

When we walked inside the room, Candy held a little blue bundle in her arms, and Soda held a similar bundle but it was pink. "Hey," I said in a quiet and happy tone as we walked in.

"How's everyone in here?" Keith asked in an equal tone.

"Tired," Candy chuckled gently, "But otherwise, we're all great."

"We've been told one boy and one girl. Is that true?"

Soda nodded. "Patrick Michael Curtis and Elizabeth Michaela Curtis," he smiled, "Patrick's older by three minutes."

"Two babies?" KJ asked, copying everyone's quiet voices.

I chuckled and nodded. "There were two babies in Aunt Candy's tummy."

"Just like there's a baby in your mommy's tummy," Candy said to KJ, holding back a smile.

Keith and I exchanged looks, both of us slightly wide eyed. "How'd you know that? We didn't tell anyone yet."

"Your doctor let it slip." Soda shrugged innocently.

"The doctor saw you and asked if we knew you and if we were friends. When I said yeah, she told us." Candy smiled hopefully.

Keith and I looked at each other again with unsure looks. "Alright," I sighed, "Just please don't tell anyone yet, ok? We were gonna wait till next week."

"Ok." Both Soda and Candy nodded, but then Soda smirked a bit, "On one condition?"

Keith gave a questioning look. "What is it?"

"You two be Patrick and Elizabeth's godparents." Candy held back a chuckle.

"Fine," I chuckled, "I have no problem with that."

"I'd say that's fair," Keith chuckled.

Candy smiled victoriously as Soda said, "Good. Now get over here and see them."

"Me too?" KJ asked hopefully.

We all chuckled quietly as his question. "Yes, KJ. You too."

**These chapters are so mushy oh my gahd. But the next chapter brings disaster…. *evil laugh*…**

**Actually, it's gonna be kinda sad. Then the couple after that are kinda sad too if everything goes according to plan.**

**I won't be updating before Valentine's Day and Galentine's Day (if you watch "Parks and Recreation", you know what that is) so- HAPPY GALENTINE'S DAY AND HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!**

**Anyway, I have nothing to say- so hope you enjoyed the chapter and peace from all the hippies of the world! =^-^=**


	28. January 14, 1976

_**January 14, 1976**_

So we eventually told everyone that I was pregnant. Soda and Candy kept their promise not to tell anyone that they already knew. The hard part was keeping KJ form saying anything for a week cause Candy had pretty much told him, even though I'm pretty sure that he wasn't completely sure of what she had said that day, or he was just confused by the whole thing. I'm still not quite sure about that.

I also told Andy and Lina at the radio station. At some point, I pretty had to tell them. Since I had to be at the station so early, I'd kinda have to rush around and for some reason, it'd make me sick. Before I told Andy or Lina, they'd get worried since it would happen every day and not just once or twice. At that point, I definitely had to tell them to ease their nerves that nothing was wrong with me. I didn't mind telling them- until Andy surprised me and announced on the air one day an hour before the show ended. I was annoyed at first since it was on the spare of the moment, but now I just kinda laugh at it.

"Next, we have _Hello, I Love You_ by the Doors," I said into the microphone.

"Then after that," Andy said into his own microphone, "Stick around for a little of America's British invasion." He pressed the button on the soundboard that would play the already selected music which included the Doors, Genesis, George Harrison, Rod Stewart and Led Zeppelin.

Once that song started to play and the microphones were turned off, our boss- Mr. Wilson- came into the studio, nearly running. "We truly work at the best radio station in Oklahoma," he said eagerly.

Andy and I shared confused looks. "Why? What'd we do? And did the ratings prove that?" Andy asked.

Mr. Wilson looked ecstatic and I don't think I've ever seen him so ecstatic. "I was able to arrange for you two to air from a live concert on July fourth, this year. But it's not just gonna be any concert, it's gonna be a huge one to celebrate America's two-hundredth birthday."

"Whose concert is it?" I asked.

"You guys aren't going to believe me when I tell you… that it's Elvis Presley!"

"Are you serious?" I asked with excitement.

Mr. Wilson nodded. "Yes, I am," he smiled, "On July fourth of this year, America's Bicentennial, you two are going to be broadcasting live from an Elvis Presley concert."

Apparently, Mr. Wilson knew one of the people who would schedule concerts all throughout the state of Oklahoma. Every month, the two would get together and discuss all the upcoming concerts for that month throughout the whole state. They had met up the night before for their usual meeting, and his friend was all excited about a specific concert- which was the Elvis Presley concert. He was also able to arrange it so that we could have special backstage passes for friends and family- even with all the people I knew, cause apparently Mr. Wilson had mentioned how large of a group I knew, and his friend said that it was fine for me to bring them all.

Andy and I couldn't actually announce the concert on the air till the middle of February. At that point, we would start having radio contests for people to try and win tickets for the concert. We'd have a contest once every morning, Monday through Friday. There would be one of these contests twice a day on the station, once during our show and once during the evening show. It seemed pretty fun to me, and the person who did the evening show who'd worked as a DJ for the station for ten years said he'd done contests before and they really were fun and exciting, which made the whole thing more exciting for me.

Once we finished off the show for the morning, I drove to Mrs. Mathews' house. I still had about an hour and a half before I had to pick up KJ from preschool, so I had some time to kill since I had nothing to do at the moment. Her house was on my way home from the radio station, so every day that I didn't have something to do before picking up KJ, I would stop by her place about half an hour to an hour, then stop home before going to pick up KJ from the preschool at 12:45 in the afternoon.

I stopped the car in her driveway and turned it off. As soon as I got out of the car, something felt off. It was like when you just get that feeling in your gut that there's something wrong. Cause I felt that way, I walked as quickly as I could to the front door and knocked frantically out of the nervousness that had been formed due to how I felt when I got out of the car. I heard "come in" come from the other side fo the door then rushed inside the house.

I quickly sat down next to Mrs. Mathews on the couch. "Mrs. Mathews, what's wrong?" I asked when I saw tears running down her cheeks.

She looked up slowly. "Keith and Keilah's father," she said in a quiet tone.

"What about their dad?"

"I just got news that he passed today…"

My mouth gaped open. "Oh my gosh… I'm so sorry."

"He died this morning. Apparently, he was hit head on in a car accident. He died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital."

I sat with her for another hour after that. She told me details about the accident, memories from before he left in 1957, everything and anything she could think of to say. She told me about him before he left. She told me the last words that two ever said to each other back in 1957. She told me memories from when they were dating in the 1940s. She even told me how he felt ashamed during World War II that he couldn't join the military due to health issues, so he could never pass the physical.

I eventually had to leave to pick up KJ. I didn't really want to leave her alone in her state, but she didn't want to come and pick up KJ cause she didn't want to do something to upset him. As I left the house, I told her I would get both Keith and Keilah so she could tell them. I told her that when I got them I wouldn't tell them, that it wasn't my place to tell them what had happened. She agreed that if I thought that, that it was best that way and she'd be the one to tell them. She said by the time I'd get back with them, that she'd still be there.

I drove straight to the preschool and picked up KJ. I then drove over to the garage and told Keith he had to see his mother. He kinda panicked when I said it, but calmed down when I said that she as fine. We then drove to where Keilah had a part time job in town to take her back to the house as well. The whole time, I didn't answer any of their questions about what had happened unless it had to do with their mother's well-being.

We all got back to Mrs. Mathews' house by 1:30. The two siblings ran inside as quickly as they possibly could while I took KJ out from the car. I didn't rush inside once I had KJ with me, cause I didn't want to get him upset or scared by what she was telling her two children what had happened.

I stopped walking when KJ asked, "Is Daddy and Aunty Kay sad?"

I sat down with KJ on the front steps of the house. "I don't really know, KJ," I answered.

"Are they sick?"

"No, they're not sick. But they might be kinda sad, or mad. And Grandma is that way, too."

"Why are they sad?"

"This might be a little hard for you to understand," I started, "You know how Grandma is Daddy's mama, right?"

KJ nodded. "Yeah."

"Good. And you know how me and Daddy are married, right? How most mamas and daddy's are married?"

He nodded again.

"Ok. Something happened today while you were in school. Something bad. It happened to Daddy's daddy, your Grandpa, who used to be married to Grandma. And what happened, made it so that Grandma, Daddy and Aunty Kay can't ever see him again."

KJ gave a look mixed with slight confusion and sadness. "Why not?" he asked.

I ran my hand over his hair. "Cause it was his turn to go away," I answered, "Everyone gets a turn to go away, but usually not for a long time."

"What if they don't wanna go away?"

"When it's their turn to go away, they don't really get a choice if they do or don't wanna go away. But that doesn't happen for a long time."

"So you and Daddy won't go away, right?"

"Not for a long time, KJ."

"Did your mama and daddy go away?"

My eyes widened a bit when I heard his question. "Well, they had to go away. But it's for a different reason, and I promise I'll explain it to you when you get a bit bigger, ok?" I thanked my lucky stars when he nodded in response.

I turned around when I heard the front door of the house open. Keith came out onto the porch, letting the front door close behind him as he sat down on the steps next to me. He leaned his elbows on his knees and ran his hands over his face, stopping halfway, covering the bottom of his nose and his mouth. I heard a sigh escape through his hands as he shut his eyes for a moment.

Before I could say anything, KJ climbed off of my lap and onto Keith's. "Mama said that you, Aunty Kay and Grandma are sad," he said, "Are you all sad, Daddy?"

I watched carefully as he ruffled KJ's dirty blonde hair a bit. "Yeah," he answered softly, "Yeah, a little bit."

"And Grandma and Aunty Kay, too?"

"Yeah, they're sad too."

"I already explained what happened to him," I whispered to Keith.

He nodded slightly. "My mom wants to know if we can stay the night tonight. Keilah already said yeah for herself, and I told her yeah for all of us too. You don't mind that, do ya?"

"No, of course I don't mind."

**Update. Update. Update. Update. Update. It's that time of the two weeks (I update all my stories every other week from Wednesday, Thursday and Friday- it's on my calendar.)**

**And I told you all this chapter would be sad. Did you believe me? I have no idea.**

**Hope everyone had a wonderful Galentine's Day (if you don't watch Parks and Recreation, you probably have no idea what that is. Simply go online and look it up, and you will find what it is) and a great Valentine's Day, even if you are single (if you are, as of 2-17-2016, I understand cause I've never had a boyfriend and my crush had to move out of state with his family, but anyhow). **

**Oh also, just for a laugh after this depressing chapter- go on youtube and search "north and south book 1 – orry and brett in the study" and if you don't want to watch the whole video, skip to 4:10 and watch up to 4:15. That's the funny part, not everything else in that scene, only 4:10 to 4:15 is funny even though the whole scene is supposed to be dramatic. You will be laughing your head off at those five seconds, I promise.**

**Oh, as well, that concert on July 4, 1976 with Elvis Presley really did happen. I swear it did. I found it online along with nearly every detail about the concert, plus I have about four tribute magazines about Elvis' life (yes I love Elvis ok? I have a poster of him on my wall and another picture of him from a street fair that was framed when I bought it for $5… don't judge me)**

**I can't think of anything else to say, so hope you enjoyed the chapter, and peace from all the hippies of the world! =^-^=**


	29. January 19, 1976

_**January 19, 1976**_

Five days after Keith and Keilah's father died, we all had a funeral to attend.

In all honesty, I was kind of nervous to go the funeral. The last time I had gone to one was around ten years previous to the present time. It made sense for me to be nervous about it then, right? I mean, it's not like every day you're told that someone that has some sort of relationship to you passes.

I was mostly nervous for what would happened between who would be at the funeral. Cause supposedly, there would be people from both sides of the family- Mrs. Mathews and her ex-husband. I'll admit, I truly believed that there would be a lot of tension between some that there were there based on past events- just from the ones I knew- or an awkward feeling would be in the air just when people made small talk. So I was nervous about how the families would interact with each other- but you'd think since it was a funeral, if anyone had any differences, they would put it all aside for one day out of respect.

The funeral was starting at twelve in the afternoon. I didn't skip work that day, considering the morning show at the radio station ended at eleven. I didn't tell anyone from the radio station that I was going to a funeral after work, cause Andy probably would've ended up saying his condolences on the air. Plus, people might have been giving me their sympathy, but I'd feel bad cause I didn't even know the man, so it's not like I was personally affected by his death. Do I feel bad that he died? Sure, I do, I would never wish death upon someone, even my worst enemy. But I met the guy once, and that wasn't even for five minutes, so how am I supposed to feel about it?

I went over to the closet and looked through the racks. I pulled out a black shirt- which I had to buy new due to the fact that my only nice black shirt doesn't fit for now, a pair of nicer pair of black jeans, and a tank top like I always did. I then went over to the drawers to grab out anything else I needed, then got changed.

Once I changed and combed my hair, I left the bedroom and went to KJ's bedroom. When I got there, he looked up at me from a piece of paper on his little table. "Hey, little man," I smiled and leaned down as best as I could next to him.

KJ smiled brightly. "Hi, Mama! Look it," he said and held up the paper on his table, ""I drew it for Grandma cause she's still sad."

The picture had three women, one man, a little kid, and what looked like to be baby. "It's very good, KJ! I think it's really gonna make Grandma smile."

"That one is Daddy, that one's me, that one's you, that's Aunty Kay, and that's Grandma." He pointed to each as he told me who was who.

I pointed to the baby. "Who's that, KJ?"

"That's the baby in your tummy, Mama."

I couldn't help but chuckle at that. "It's very good, KJ. I promise you that Grandma's gonna love it. Now, how 'bout we get you ready to go, then you can show your picture to Daddy, ok?"

KJ nodded and quickly ran over to his dresser. I got up- not as quick as KJ- and walked over to his dresser. I pulled out his dark blue sweater that looked nearly black, a pair of jeans along with socks, underwear and an undershirt. I quickly helped him change, then we left the bedroom to go to the kitchen- he made sure to run back to his table and grab his picture.

When we got to the kitchen, Keith was at the counter. "Daddy look!" KJ said, gaining his attention, and held up his picture. "I drew it for Grandma."

Keith turned around and gave a small smile at both of us. He then walked over and leaned down to KJ to see the picture. "This is really good, KJ," he smiled, "Grandma's gonna love it."

Once KJ smiled again and ran over to the couch, I stood by Keith. "How you doin'?" I asked.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm fine. I'm not upset, I'm not angry- I pretty much feel nothing."

The three of us left the house not long after that. On ethe way to the home, we had stopped to pick up Mrs. Mathews and Keilah. Most of the car ride was quiet- and you could cut the tension in the air with a knife. I guessed that even KJ could feel the tension, considering he played with his bear- Keith and I let him bring his bear so he would be distracted since he was still only three years old- very quietly, and he would look around at all of once in a while with a slightly confused look on his face. Going by that, he probably had no idea what was really going on, which I had no problem with whatsoever.

Once we got to the funeral home, anyone who was already there looked at the five of us with sympathetic looks. People gave their condolences as we walked and other stuff like that. I would just give small and awkward smiles at everyone, considering the only connection I had with anyone there would have either been friendship or in laws. I looked at Keith and Keilah, who looked like they were both mad and sad, but trying not to show it.

I had chosen to stay in the lobby for a little while before the service started while the three actually went inside. While I was sitting there, KJ continued to play with his bear with one hand, his drawing in the other hand to give to Mrs. Mathews a little later on. I nearly jumped outta my skin when Candy, Evie, Cherry and Marilyn came over to where I was sitting; Mariah and DT went over by KJ, while Candy held Elizabeth in her arms and I guessed Patrick was with Sodapop. "Hey," Marilyn greeted with a small smile, "How are you?"

I stood up and gave a small smile. "I'm fine," I answered with a slight shrug, "I mean, I never met the guy so I don't really know how to react. How should I react?"

"Not too excitedly," Cherry said, "Not this far along."

I let out a slight chuckle. "I know, I know. It's kinda hard though cause I'm nervous what might happen today."

"What could happen?" Evie asked, slightly confused, "I mean, it's a funeral. Aren't people supposed to be either mourning or supporting those who're mourning the dead?"

"Well yeah, but with both sides of the family here, it's really weird, ya know?"

"I respect that," Candy said, "I mean, when my one aunt died a few years ago, I was real nervous cause him and my aunt had gotten divorced cause she cheated on him, and she was married in to my family. I still consider her my aunt cause they had kids, who are my cousins. But since they had kids together, there were people from both sides and it was really weird."

"Is that supposed to be helpful to the situation, Candy?" Evie gave a weird look.

Candy gave an embarrassed shrug. "Just saying, cause nothin' bad happened there that day, so maybe it'll be the same here."

The service started not long after that. I think it was some minister or church official that gave the service, but I couldn't be too sure since I wasn't religious. Once he finished speaking, he said that anyone who was there who "would like to say something or share a memory about the deceased" could go up and do just that. Whoever did, would have to stand up at the podium at the front right corner of the room.

Mrs. Mathews got up from her seat two seats away from me and stood up at the podium. "First of all," she started, "I want to thank everyone for coming today, mostly for supportive reasons. Especially those who are from my ex-husband, Robert's side and have been with me since 1957. I bet some of those from my side are wondering why I'm actually upset. The reason is because, one: I'd never wish death upon anyone. And two: because Rob gave me my two children. So even though I haven't seen him since 1957, I could never thank him enough for the two most important gifts I've ever received in my entire life. And through them, led to me gaining a wonderful daughter-in-law and two grandchildren, one here and one on the way. That's why I mourn Robert."

After she sat down, Keilah got up from her seat and walked to the podium. "Ok, um," she started and cleared her throat, "I'm gonna be straight here and say, I don't remember my dad. The last time I saw him, I was two years old, and that was nearly nineteen years ago. Instead of having him in my life, I had multiple father figures in my life, like my brother and my Uncle Andrew, and eventually Rusty from the garage. But this was normal for me. Anyway, it's a shame he died, especially that way he did, and I wish I could have met him at least once."

"Didn't you tell us he went over to your house four years ago?" Evie whispered to me from behind before Keilah got to her seat. I just simply nodded and shushed her, and she got the hint.

Once Keilah returned to her seat, Keith hesitantly got up from his seat and went up to the podium. "I'm not quite sure what I should say," he chuckled nervously, "I can't say the last time I saw him was when I was ten, cause he was in town a few years ago. He came to my house and told me why he left. He said it was cause he was afraid. Cause he was young and already had two kids, and that scared him, so he left. He never told this to anyone else, except me, when he was at my house four years ago. Kinda makes me think of him almost in low regard, cause that's a bad excuse. But either way, that's all I could think of to say, cause I couldn't stand here and say anything else. Anyway, like my sister said, it's a shame he's dead."

Everyone looked surprised at what he had said. Even I was a little shocked that he'd mentioned about when his their father came to the house that week after KJ was born. When he finished speaking, he didn't sit back down in his seat, but rather went out in to the lobby of the building.

Candy- who was sitting behind me with Soda, Patrick and Elizabeth- leaned formed to me. "Are you gonna speak?" she whispered cautiously.

I shook my head. "It's not my place," I whispered back, "At least, not anymore."

The service ended not long after that. By the end of it, Keith had come back inside from the lobby and sat back down in his seat next to me. When he sat down, he was cautious and acted as if the chair had rabies and was about to bite him. I decided I would ask him about it later, _after_ he talked to his mother and sister about what he had confessed about.

"I can't believe you told him to get lost!" Keilah yelled once nearly everyone had left the service.

"It's not like it was a hard concept for him to understand," Keith snapped back.

"That's not the point! He wanted to apologize to the three of us, but no, you told him that if he ever came to me or Mom, that you'd call the cops!"

"Cause I was trying to protect you two, and Rain and KJ, cause I didn't want him to hurt any of us again!"

"That's not what it is! You just can't accept the fact that people make mistakes!"

"Leaving your wife and kids is more than a little mistake, Keilah! A mistake is when you use the wrong thing when cooking or somethin' like that. He told me that day that he left cause he was afraid, that he didn't wanna screw us over, so he left. You think that's just 'a mistake'?"

"He was still our dad," Keilah retorted.

"Only in genetics," Keith answered coldly, "In actions, he's been dead to me for almost nineteen years."

Keilah let out a deep breath. "As of right now, that's what you are to me." She then stormed out of the building with her coat, and walked out onto the streets.

Mrs. Mathews and I both exchanged nervous looks. "This is _not_ good," she said.

I couldn't have agreed with her more.

**This chapter was very dramatic. I should write plot lines for Days of our Lives, it's so dramatic (I watch Days of our Lives, ok?)**

**I have big plans for the argument *evil laugh*, you're probably see it next chapter, so yeah. That's if everything goes according to plan. Oh and by the way, the scene with all the girls before the funeral, that was added in as I typed this. It was not pre-written in my notebook so yeah. How'd that go? Did it work?**

**Anyway, did watch the academy awards this past Sunday? Leo finally won- no more jokes about him never getting one. Plus I'm mad that Sylvester Stallone didn't win best supporting actor for Creed, but I'm happy Dave Grohl was the one chosen to play the memoriam song cause I absolutely love Foo Fighters.**

**Anyway, I have SAT's this weekend so please wish me luck. I'm scared out of my mind about it, and I have no idea what Trigonometry is. Plus there's a good chance people in my class from my old school with be there, and I'm nervous about that cause none of us have kept in contact really since I left there. So yeah, I'm scared for a number of reasons.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Peace form all the hippies of the world! =^-^=**


	30. April 15, 1976

_**April 15, 1976**_

"I'm so sick of this between you two, and you know what? So is your mother," I practically yelled, "This is the worst fight you two have ever had, and it's ridiculous! It needs to stop, and it's gonna stop now. You two are acting like little kids, and it's pathetic. You're grown adults, act like it."

Keith and Keilah hadn't said a word to each other since their argument at the funeral. The two wouldn't speak to each other, and they sure didn't want to see each other. Mrs. Mathews and I had both seen them separately since January and they were fine, but when we mentioned one sibling to the other in some way, they'd immediately change the subject with some sort of dumb question or statement. Quite frankly, it had frustrated me and annoyed me and aggravated me. I knew the same went for Mrs. Mathews cause she had actually told me when I went to pick up KJ from her house once.

Mrs. Mathews and I had devised a plan to at least get them together in the same room- and it had worked. It wasn't hard to get Keith to walk to the living room, so that was done and taken care of. To get Keilah to come to the house, I had to call her. Over the phone when I called her, I told her that I had to do something in the house and that I was home alone, but I was way too uncomfortable to be doing anything and that I had struggled to get to the phone.

It wasn't a complete lie what I told her. I definitely wasn't home alone, but Keith was in the shower, so he didn't hear. But when I had told Keilah that I was really uncomfortable, that wasn't a lie. And I had been that way for the majority of the week, and a few times I was even in pain, but it wasn't unusual. The only good thing about it was that it kinda sounded more convincing.

Plus, going through the whole plan, Mrs. Mathews said they might be more cooperative with an uncomfortable and hormonal pregnant woman. I had a feeling she was right.

"You two are goin' to act like adults, sit here and work this out," I ordered, "And I don't care how long it takes you two to do it."

"What 'bout pickin' up KJ from preschool?" Keith asked, trying to find a loophole, "Or how we're supposed to meet up with everyone for Steve's birthday today?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you? Evie rescheduled it for this weekend due to scheduling problems, so that's not a problem. And KJ has a playdate with Mariah at the Curtis', remember? So Marilyn and Darry are picking him up."

"What if neither of us agree to doin' this?" Keilah challenged, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You could try arguing with me, but at the moment, you'd probably lose this one. The other option is that I call your mom and she'll make you two apologize to each other," I answered and shrugged nonchalantly, "So you two have a choice. One: you sit here and work it out before you apologize to each other so you two have a mutual understanding, or I call your mom who's not even gonna give the chance to talk and just force you two to apologize. Your choice."

The two siblings looked at each other before looking back at me. "Fine," they both mumbled.

I smiled. "Good. Now, I'm gonna go lie down while you two talk. If I hear anything I don't want to, I'm coming in here. And right now, with how I'm feeling, you two don't want that. Understood?" The two nodded and I left the room.

I walked to the bedroom and to the bed. I left the bedroom door open, that way I could hear the two talking. I would've heard them talking anyway since I had hid a brand new baby monitor in the living room while I had the other one, but they didn't know that. I took out the one baby monitor from the drawer in my bedside table and placed it on top of it next to the lamp so I had easy access to it,, then leaned back and tried to get into a comfortable position.

I must have fallen asleep cause when I woke up, the clock on my bedside table read 2:27pm instead of the original 11:56am. I tried to sit up and readjust myself but stopped when my back and torso began to sting, and my waist started to hurt. I slowly readjusted myself and sat on the edge of the bed, ignoring all of that- or at least trying to- the whole time.

"Could one of you come in here?" I called out nervously.

A moment later, the two siblings arrived in the doorway. "Rain, you ok?" Keith asked from his spot.

I shrugged a bit. "I don't know…"

His eyes widened for a brief moment before he ran and sat down next to me. "What's wrong?"

"Everything hurts." My voice was soft and strained, and I didn't like it.

"Maybe we should take you to the hospital, Rain," Keilah suggested, "Just to be safe."

It took about five minutes to get out of the house and out ot the car, and another ten minutes to drive to the hospital. On the drive there, the paid had subsided, but was still slightly there. At that point, I relaxed as best as I could, but I'd be lying to say I wasn't scared.

We went inside and was admitted. The doctor required a few tests and examinations "to see what's going on". Those tests lasted about twenty minutes. But the time they were all done with those stupid tests, the pain had come and gone in a cycle. I don't know how far apart the second cycle was from the first one, but either way, it hurt more than the first one and felt like it lasted longer.

While the three of us waited in the room I'd been admitted to, I decided to question the two siblings. "So how'd it go before for you two?" I asked, my voice tired from everything, "Were you two able to make up?"

Keith nodded and ran his thumb back and forth across my hand. "Yeah, we did," he answered, "Not long before you called us, actually."

"I thought you said you could hear us," Keilah wondered.

I shrugged a bit. "I could, but I think I kinda fell asleep."

She chuckled slightly. "Seriously?"

"Hey, when you get married in the future and are eight months pregnant, then we'll talk 'bout being tired." The cycle started again and I felt my body tighten.

"Again?" he asked sympathetically and I nodded slowly.

A few minutes later, the doctor came back into the room. "Hello, how are we feeling in here?" she asked. I just glared at her, and she nodded and continued, "That's what I thought. Alright, after going after your tests and examinations, there's nothing wrong with you. In fact, I have some good news."

"What's that?" Keilah asked.

The doctor smiled a bit. "You're having your baby!"

"That sure as hell would explain _a lot_," I groaned.

Keith gave a confused look at the doctor. "But she's not due for another month, I thought?" he asked in a confused tone.

"It's not uncommon for women to have their babies a month early, especially if they're stressed out about something for a long time," she answered with a shrug, "And before you ask, it's very common and it's not dangerous."

For a while after that, doctors came in and out of the room for two hours. They would come in and out to set something up and to check on me to see how I was doing. At one point, the doctor had even given me some kind of medication that would supposedly help with any pain I was helping. Honestly, it did nothing for me, but I told the doctor it did. Did I lie to them? Yes, but that's only because I didn't want to become a guinea pig for some pain medication- at least not when I was just about to have a baby.

Keith had eventually gone to the payphone to call Darry and Marilyn since KJ was with them. The two eventually came about twenty minutes later with Mariah, KJ and DT. The two of them also decided to be the ones to call everyone to say how I was in the hospital. Mrs. Mathews came not long after, and KJ stayed with her the majority of the time. Everyone else got there not long after.

…..._ two hours later, 5:53pm …_

"How ya feelin'?" Keith asked me in a quiet tone.

"Kinda sore," I answered with a slight shrug, "Anxious."

"The doctor said they had to make sure she was ok since she was early. Honestly, she seemed alright to me, but what do I know? I ain't a doctor."

I chuckled at that. "Maybe not, but you're probably better than half of these people."

A few minutes later, a nurse walked it with something wrapped in a pink blanket in her arms. She came over to us with a smile on her face as she gently placed the blanket into my arms. "Mr. and Mrs. Mathews," she said with a smile, "Meet your new baby girl."

I couldn't help but smile as I held her. "Well, hi there," I whispered, "We're your Mommy and Daddy."

"You decided to come early, huh?" Keith whispered to her then chuckled.

Before either of us said anything else, there was a knock on the doorway. When we looked up, it was Mrs. Mathews with KJ. "Look who's here," she smiled as KJ ran to us at the bed, while she just walked and sat down next to her son.

"Is that the baby that was in your tummy, Mama?" KJ asked.

I let out a chuckle. "Yeah, she was," I smiled, "And she's your new baby sister."

KJ smiled. "What's her name?"

"How 'bout Skylar?" Keith suggested to me, "And we can call her Sky for short. Then you're Rain, and she's Sky. Get it? Sky, Rain." He was chuckling the whole time.

_Well, he's never getting rid of that sense of humor,_ I thought, _Thank God._ "I get it," I laughed, "And I like it."

"How about Keilah for a middle name?" Mrs. Mathews suggested, since Keilah wasn't in the room, "Kind of a reminder about how they made up today."

"Skylar Keilah Mathews, Sky for short. It sounds nice, I like it."

"Hi there, Sky," KJ said to Sky, "I'm your big brother. You're gonna like it at home."

**KJ is the best child to ever exist I swear- well, with the exception of me of course (just kidding, just kidding). But he's so amazerful, y'all have no idea of my plans for him as he grows up but he's going to be kinda based off of someone I know who my dad teaches piano to. Don't worry, you're gonna love him as he gets older.**

**SKYLAR KEILAH MATHEWS. She has Steve's birthday XD that was unintentional when I wrote down what this whole story is based off of from the bonus chapter in "To Love A Greaser" XD now I just have to figure out how to make Sky's personality as she gets older… yay, fun (it really is, I'm not being sarcastic).**

**Oh and ironically, in my story "Loyalty", someone else just had a baby girl so hahahahahahahaha… except that one is still in 1968, while here it's 1976 (that's the year **_**Rocky**_** came out, so expect that to pop up toward the end of 1976)- and don't forget, the Elvis Bicentennial Concert is coming up and I'm so excited to write it. In about two chapters, Elvis will be in the building. Get excited.**

**Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter! I actually did. Peace from all the hippies of the world. =^-^=**


	31. April 25, 1976

_**April 25, 1976**_

"You get to come back home now, Mama?" KJ asked with an eager smile.

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Yes, I do," I smiled, "And Sky is coming too."

The three of us got into the car, Keith getting into the driver's seat, KJ in the back, and I got into the back as well with Sky's baby carrier. KJ didn't miss the opportunity to sit on my lap, partly to get a better look at his new baby sister. I had one arm wrapped tight around him so he wouldn't fall, my other arm holding tight to the handle on the baby carrier to keep it still to try and not make Sky wake up at every car move.

"So, bud," Keith started from the front seat as he began to drive, "You excited to be a big brother?"

KJ smiled eagerly again. "Yeah!" he answered and nodded.

"Are you gonna be as good of a big brother like Daddy is to Aunty Kay?" I asked.

He nodded again, smile still in place. "I'm gonna be the best big brother ever!"

I heard Keith chuckle from the front of the car. "Good. But you have to remember to be gentle around her."

I nodded in agreement. "That's right. She's still little, so you have to be gentle around Sky."

"And she's a girl, so that's another reason to be gentle with her. You don't wanna do nothin' to hurt her when you both get bigger."

Keith drove into the driveway and turned off the car. He came around to the back seat and took Sky's carrier while I helped KJ down from the car. The three of us walked back to the house and went inside. When we got inside, Mrs. Mathews and Keilah were there, doing something.

To say I was shocked when I saw Keilah and Mrs. Mathews in the house would be an overstatement. Keith and I had given his mother a key to take care of a few things in the house during one day and she still had the key. Her and Keilah had done the same thing when KJ was born, be at the house until we got there and say they did a little something in celebration or a celebratory manner.

And when we walked into the house, it seemed as though they had done it again.

I found it very sweet, actually. I'd be lying if I said I didn't appreciate having the two of them as family, at least in laws. I'm not saying that I have a problem with that fact that I grew up with all guys until I was a teenager, but even when Candy, Evie, Marilyn and Suzie came aournd, I kinda thought it was nice. I was never really "girly" with them, but they did manage to let that very small- and I'm talking microscopic- side of me to come out, and they were still about to do that a lot.

"Welcome home," the two said together happily when we all walked in.

I looked down at Sky to make sure she hadn't woken up. When I saw that she was still asleep, I smiled at the two. "Hello to you two too," I chuckled.

"Ok," Keilah started, "While you were still in the hospital, my brother and I finished up Sky's nursey for when you two got home. It's all done and decorated, and now that we know Sky is a girl, it made life easier."

I couldn't help but smile. "That's so great of you two! It's also great to see you two together and getting along after all these months."

"Yeah," Keith agreed, "And I've missed my baby sister, actually." He leaned over and ruffled Keilah's hair teasingly, and she laughed as she pushed his arm away.

As the two talked and caught up about the last couple of months, I took Sky's carrier and went to her nursey, KJ following after me like a puppy. The walls were a lavender color with a few patterns of shapes painted on as well. On the wall, there was a picture of the four of us that had been taken the same day she was born. All the furniture and toys and supplies were placed orderly around the walls of the room. Honestly, the now finished nursery looked great to me.

I saw Sky begin to stir awake and quickly but gently picked her up in my arms. I gently rocked her back and forth until she grew quiet again. As I did this, I walked over to the rocking in the room and sat down. I looked down at Sky and gently caressed her cheek, my thumb moving up and down against the smooth surface of her skin. KJ came over and leaned against one arm of the chair, looking over as best as he could see to see Sky.

I jumped slightly when I heard Keilah in the doorway. "My brother needs you in the living room," she said simply.

I nodded, stood up and placed Sky gently in her crib. "Would you stay with Sky and KJ?" I asked, "Just till I get back."

She smiled and nodded. "Of course I can. I'll get to spend time with my adorable little niece and my awesome nephew." She bent down and picked up KJ and ruffled his hair, causing him to laugh.

I smiled and walked out of the bedroom, letting Keilah fully into the room, and walked to the living room. Mrs. Mathews was sitting on the couch with a confused look on her face, and Keith was standing in the doorway facing outside. Mrs. Mathews looked at me as I walked in, then back at her son and cleared her throat, gaining his attention. He turned around and looked at me, and stepped from the doorway, revealing a man who didn't look to be much older than the two of us.

"What's goin' on?" I asked in a confused tone.

Keith gave a weird look. "Uh," he started, "This guy says he wants to talk to you 'bout somethin' important."

Now I was really confused as I walked to the door and looked at the man. "Can I help you?"

The guy looked to be in his late twenties, thirty or early thirties at most. He was kinda tall, but not "large" in height, more like average. For some reason, his facial features were familiar to me, but I knew I never met the guy. He wore casual clothing, jeans and a plain t-shirt with a jean jacket on over it. His clothing wasn't sloppy, but rather comfortable looking going along with the weather. He was neatly shaved and groomed, and had hair a similar color to my own. He had a slight Southern accent, but not like he was from the area, but rather another part of the South.

The man cleared his throat a bit. "Uh, yeah," he answered, "My name is Eric Johnson. Are you Raina Johnson?"

"Well, everyone calls me Rain, and my maiden name was Johnson. Why? Do I know you?"

"Uh, no, you don't. And I don't know you either, but I knew your dad."

I felt slight anger begin to rise inside me at the mention of my dad. "How do you know him? He's been dead for nearly ten years."

"This is kinda hard to just come out and say," Eric said, "So could I just explain the whole thing to you guys?"

I nodded. "Sure, go ahead."

"Alright," he started, "In 1945, your dad had a marriage previous to his marriage to your mom. They got divorced though in 1948, and his first wife moved to Virginia with her three year old son, your dad's first kid. He eventually got remarried to some other woman, who was your mom, and here you are."

I gave a slightly confused look. "So what're you sayin'? That I have a brother floating around Virginia somewhere? Or more like a half-brother?"

"Not exactly… more like standing on your front porch."

It took a moment for me to understand what was going on, and when I did, my eyes widened a bit. "You mean you're-" I started but began to laugh, "This is all a joke, right? I mean, I'm an only child, I don't have a half-brother. I mean, as terrible as my dad was, he only married my mom, who was just as bad. Alright, great joke everybody, but I'm really not in the mood for this kind of joke."

"Rain," Keith cut in, "I don't really think he's joking."

I stopped laughing and gave a serious look. "So, you're really my brother?" I asked unsurely.

Eric nodded a bit. "Yeah," he answered and let out a slight sigh, "I am."

I hesitated. "Um… if you'll excuse me, I have to go check on KJ and Sky."

I quickly left the room and went to Sky's bedroom. Keilah was still in thee and so was KJ. When I walked into the room, I closed the door behind me, then leaned against the door. I let out a sigh and placed one hand against my head for a moment, then one over my chest in a failed attempt to calm my racing heart in shock. After all that, I felt sick.

"Rain, you ok?" Keilah asked in a worried tone, "You're really pale."

"I don't know," I answered in an unsure tone and shrugged, "But guess what? Every girl in this room has an older brother."

Her eyes widened a moment. "That guy at the door is your older brother? But I thought you were an only child?"

"So did I! But apparently, my dad had a previous marriage before my mother."

**I'm only slightly happy with this chapter. Although lately, I'm not too happy with anything I've been writing for fanfiction. To me, everything I write sucks- except for that new chapter of "Cherry Flavored Soda" I just uploaded the other day, I thought that was pretty good, actually. **

**Credit to my best friend Sara for helping me figure out the details about Rain's brother: Eric Johnson! Also credit to her for saying whether adding him was a good idea or not, having that kind of plot when there's randomly another sibling no one knew about. THANK YOU MY BUDDY SARA *does our awesome handshake***

**Hope everyone had an awesome Easter/ Resurrection Sunday last weekend! If you get offended by my second term for the holiday- I apologize if this sounds rude- but that's too darn bad. I'm a Christian, you know this, so that's what I call it.**

**oh, just so you know- next chapter is gonna be AWESOME I just know it. No spoilers, but there will be a celebrity appearance (hopefully I can make it work)!**

**Alright, I must go now, Rod Stewart is playing on the Music Choice Classic Rock station (beware if I'm ever typing and the Doors or the Rolling Stones started playing)- peace from all the hippies of the world =^-^=**


	32. July 4, 1976

_**July 4, 1976**_

"Welcome, everybody," Andy said through his microphone in his radio tone of voice, "This is Andy Brown."

"And I'm Rain Mathews," I said, "And we're on the air live from Elvis Presley's performance here in Tulsa for America's Bicentennial!"

"That's right! So go outside, have that cliché barbecue and turn your radio up loud if you wanna hear the King of Rock and Roll!"

Yes, we were broadcasting live form an Elvis Presley concert. I had been looking forward to the event ever since it had been announced at the radio station. Once I'd been able to tell everyone about it, they all freaked out when I did. It made it even better that my boss had somehow managed to get passes to actually _meet_ Elvis after the show was over for all of us, even for Eric.

Somehow, Eric had found me a few months previous to the present time. He was my older brother by about three years, and we only had the same father, but different mothers. His mother had been married to my father first, but they got divorced after only a few years, and she moved to Virginia with Eric. Then, my dad married my mom, and the rest is history. Not long after he came to Tulsa, we took some sort of test to prove that we really did have the same dad, proving that he was my half-brother. He decided to move to Bixby not long after, which isn't too far away from Tulsa. He had originally came to Oklahoma for a job he got, then when he found out about me, he found me. While he'd been here he started his new job, had gotten a nice place to live, and even a girlfriend.

It was kinda weird sometimes to have an actual brother. It wasn't the fact that he's my brother that was weird, cause that wasn't it at all. It was more so that I had grown up all with guys around me who I considered "brothers" to me, and now having an actual brother, it was so surreal. It also seemed a bit odd since I'd grown up not knowing him, and he grew up not knowing me, while the case is usually siblings grow up together and that we hadn't met until we were adults.

Not the most normal scenario, really; or should I say not that most normal "Family reunion", in this case? And besides, what is normal, anyway?

Everyone was at the concert. Could you blame people for being excited to see Elvis? I mean, sure, Elvis' popularity wasn't as big as it was in the late fifties or in the sixties, but that didn't seem to make a difference to those in the audience. It sure didn't make a difference to me, at least. And to be honest, I hadn't been so excited for a concert since we'd all driven from Tulsa to New Orleans in Louisiana in 1970 for a Doors concert- one of their last, actually- and we snuck backstage to meet the members of the Doors, or when the radio station sent me and Andy to Tucson in Arizona in 1974 for a David Bowie concert where we then got to meet and interview him… and I was _really_ excited for those.

"The concert'll be starting soon since all the other acts just finished," I said, "So if you're just tuning in, you didn't miss anything yet and you couldn't have chosen a better time to join us here!"

"You're all in for a real treat, folks," Andy said, "Whether you're here at the concert, at home, some sort of celebration or whatever you're doing- if you're listening in, this might be the time for you to hear Elvis Presley live."

"With the exception of _Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite_ from 1973 a few years ago, of course."

The concert had begun not long after that. To say that concert was incredible would be an understatement. He sang the songs that had been released all throughout his singing career, both rock songs and his gospel hymns. Along with those, his patriotic songs were sung as well, which went right in with the holiday and made sense for the current holiday. Then at the song, he said that he loved the people of Tulsa- which made everyone go nuts- and that if we ever wanted him to come back for another concert, "just let us know".

In all honesty, my favorite part of the concert was how he ended it by singing _Can't Help Falling in Love_ from _Blue Hawaii._

After the concert ended, we all went to the special hidden area where the performers went. My boss and his friend had convinced his people to let him stay for another ten minutes for those from the radio station and their guests, saying it would be "good publicity". None of us argued, cause they agreed to let us all meet Elvis and that they would take pictures of us all with him for the radio station- and then we'd all get individual copies.

I was shocked when they allowed this, considering there was nearly twenty-five of us there in total. What had been agreed was that there would be six group pictures taken- all those from the radio station, Andy and his "guests", me and my "guests" which was nearly eighteen people, all the guys attending, all the girls attending, then one whole group shot- along with autographs. The pictures would be taken using the radio stations camera, who would then develop all the photos and make copies for all those who attended- which also included KJ, Sky, DT, Mariah, Patrick and Elizabeth, which was pretty cool.

"Mama?" KJ started, "Is this the man you said sings _Mama's Song?_"

Whenever KJ would get really upset or couldn't fall asleep, he'd ask me to sing _Can't Help Falling in Love_ to him, which he would called _Mama's Song._ I smiled at him and answered, "Yes he is. I heard from him a few years ago."

"Is Daddy and Sky gonna meet him too?"

"Yes, they are. And so is Aunty Kay, Uncle Eric, and everyone else. Are you excited?"

KJ smiled eagerly and nodded, making me chuckle. We walked up to everyone where they were standing, waiting to take the pictures. I walked over to Keith who was holding SKY with KJ and waited with everyone. "You have no idea how excited Keilah is," Keith told me with a chuckle, "This is like a dream come true for her."

"I'm just happy she could make it," I said with a slight shrug, "I was afraid she wouldn't be able to."

"You kiddin' me? She wouldn't miss the concert for the world. Even if she had something to do today, she would've dropped it in a heartbeat just to come. You 'member how excited she got when you told her, right?"

I laughed. "I don't think I'll ever forget. If I ever get pregnant again, remind me not to let her hug me ever again. She lost that right in January."

He then laughed. "You know she ain't gonna listen. Htat girl can't go ten minutes without hugging someone, and you know it."

"I know, I know. Remember when she first officially welcomed Eric to the family?"

"I was afraid she was gonna kill him."

I laughed again. "Well, somehow she didn't," I chuckled.

Not long after that, we took the pictures with Elvis. To say I was overjoyed would a complete understatement, but of course I had to act cool. That was a perk of working at the top radio station in the whole state of Oklahoma and doing the morning show: you get to meet awesome singers and members of bands. Honestly, I loved working at the station as a DJ, but that was my favorite part of the job and I'd be a dirty liar if I said otherwise.

It took ten minutes exactly to take all six pictures and do all the autorgraphs. The whole time, I held in my excitement and tried to act professional, and I think it went well. Everyone stood talking while Elvis and the group with him got ready to leave. While I talked with Candy, I held Sky in my arms and KJ stood nearby playing with Mariah and DT. Candy and I gave weird looks as KJ stopped playing with Mariah and DT and walked over toward Elvis.

I followed KJ to them as he tugged on the sleeve of one of the men, gaining the man's attention- and Elvis' attention. "My Mama said he's the man who sings _Mama's Song,_" KJ informed.

The man turned and looked oddly at Elvis, who had an amused smile on his face. I was intently as Elvis got down on his knee to be eye level with KJ. "What song is that, son?" he asked with a smile on his face.

I got Keith and the two of us walked up not too far behind KJ. "The one 'bout wise men," KJ answered.

Elvis chuckled again before looking up at me and Keith, smiling. "I'm guessing you two are his parents?"

The two of us chuckled out of nervousness. "Yeah," Kieth chuckled, "This is our son, KJ."

"Can I ask what _Mama's Song_ about wise men is?"

"It's _Can't Help Falling in Love_ from _Blue Hawaii_," I chuckled, "He loves to hear it, especially when I sing it to him when he's upset."

Elvis smiled again. "What're your names?"

"I'm Rain, this is my husband Keith, our daughter Sky, and you've already met KJ. And the majority of the people here are our family, too."

"You're with the radio station right?" When I nodded, he continued, "Well, Rain from the radio station, you've got yourself a wonderful family. Treasure them and don't let them go." He smiled one more time before he left with the group with him.

I looked over at Keith with a look of awe on my face, and he had the same look. "If I wake up and this was all a dream," I started, "I swear I will scream my head off."

**Yes I had a celebrity appearance (technically) by Elvis. I have been planning this for months, and I really hope it worked so please please please PLEASE tell me if it worked out.**

**I'm almost done with two of my stories here on fanfiction. Net so YAY! No offense but yay, cause I write five chapters every two weeks for five stories, and it's actually really tiring. Not to mention I started doing experimentation with certain short stories for this site so yeah, I need a break. Like seriously, I do need a break, my wrist aches all the time from writing.**

**Anyway, hope you liked the chapter. Peace from all the hippies of the world =^-^=**


	33. December 18, 1976

_**December 18, 1976**_

"So you have to see this new movie," Keith began to ask, "Then on Monday give a review 'bout the movie?"

I nodded. "Exactly," I answered, "The station is paying for our tickets at the movie theater, so we just have to go watch it."

The radio station had been making me and Andy do more with entertainment in the morning talk show part. They'd recently began telling us to see certain films, going to specific events, watching certain shows or episodes sometimes, and reading specific books. We had no problem with any of it, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't get annoying every once in a while. I mean, they were telling us to do it all for the station, so that wasn't the annoying part since that's what we get paid to do- the annoying part was that some of the shows or films and such were just so terrible. But the reason for this was cause the station was progressively getting more popular throughout the state, along with a little bit outside of the Oklahoma state borders.

I actually really liked working at the station, and had liked it since I first started working there a few years back. It had some pretty cool perks, so that was definitely a plus of working there. It was also kinda weird at times, though. The reason I say this is cause in some of the major cities of Oklahoma, they had billboards or signs that advertised the radio station, more so the morning show- and there was a picture of me and Andy on the posters. Sometimes we'd even be in the town or state paper depending on what was going on. Supposedly, people all over the state knew who we were, and to me, that felt kinda weird sometimes.

Was it a bad thing that it felt weird at times? No, it's not, and I'd been told that it was ok that I felt weird at times about it. In fact, everyone said it was a completely normal thing to feel, and that it'd be a bit odd if I _didn't _feel weird at times cause of it.

Wouldn't you feel weird if nearly everyone in your state knew who you were? And along with that, those same people might be able to pick you out in a crowd and know who you are just by the sound of your voice?

Yeah, it's weird.

"What movie are we seein' again?" Keith asked as the two of us walked to the ticket booth; KJ and Sky were with Keilah for the present time.

"It's some movie called _Rocky_, I think," I guessed and shrugged a bit, "I heard the guy who actually plays Rocky also wrote the script."

"Is he some famous actor?"

I shook my head. "Not from what I know, but last year he was in that David Carradine movie, _Death Race 2000_, I think."

The two of us got our tickets and walked to the specified theater. When we walked inside, a little more than half of the seats were taken. My eyes widened for a brief moment, a bit shocked at the amount of people that filled the seats. Keith and I shared this facial expression before locating two seats that were next to each other that were located on the end of a row in the middle of the theater. We walked together to the seats; he sat in the outer seat and I sat on the seat on the inside next to him.

"I think that actress… Talia Shire?... from _The Godfather_ is in this movie," I said as we waited for the movie to start.

"Ain't she the kid sister of the guy who directed _The Godfather_?" Keith asked.

I shrugged a bit. "Not a clue. I mean, it's not impossible, but there's definitely _no_ family resemblance between the two if they are."

He chuckled slightly. "Ya know, not all brothers and sisters look alike."

"While I know that's true, all the people I know who have siblings look alike. Even KJ and Sky already look alike."

"And how you and Eric look alike."

"And how you and Keilah look alike."

Before either of us could say another word, the lights in the theater dimmed down until they were completely off and the movie started. The two of us quickly shut up and held in our laughter from our previous conversation and turned to face the screen and the _MGM_ film company symbol ran across the screen.

The movie lasted a little over two hours, which is longer that I thought it would be. We had been going to see the 2:30 afternoon showing, and didn't get out until 4:50 in the afternoon. The two of us walked out from the theater and back outside to our car. Keith started the car and drove to where Keilah's apartment building was so we could pick up KJ and Sky.

"So what'd ya think of the movie?" I asked.

"It was alright, actually," Keith answered, "But it was kinda hard to tell what a few of 'em were saying at times."

I chuckled. "Ok, you thought so, too. I mean, do you think it was cause they're all from the East Coast that it was weird for us? Since their accent is different?"

He shrugged slightly. "Maybe. What you're sayin' makes sense, but it just could've been cause they talked worse than all of us."

"We're not that terrible. We've gotten better over the years. I can tell cause sometimes when I talk, I feel like how I used to feel whenever I was trying to be proper or make a good impression."

About fifteen minutes after leaving the movie theater, we stopped in front of the building where Keilah lived. The two of us got out of the car and started up into the building. Her apartment building had a total of five floors. The first floor was the lobby and what was equivalent to a basement. Then the next four floors was where the apartments were, and there were four individual apartments on each floor. Thankfully, along with the staircases, there were two elevators that went to all five floors, along with the roof that could be used. It was a nice building, and the apartments were great, too.

Once we reached her apartment door, as if on cue, the door opened. "Hey, guys," Keilah greeted with a smile."

"Hey, Pipsqueak," Keith greeted her teasingly, "How'd it go?"

"Everything went fine, as usual. KJ's playing with some wooden building blocks, and Sky is lying on her blanket watching. Why does she get such a kick outta watching him play with those blocks?"

"No clue," I answered a chuckle and a slight shrug, "She just does, even back at home. We can't figure it out."

Keilah laughed and let the two of us in. As soon as KJ saw us, he got up and ran to Keith, who got down on the floor to make it easier for KJ to reach him. I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight as I went to pick up Sky from her spot on the blanket on the floor. She smiled as I did so, and small smile formed my lips as well.

"Hey, Rain?" Keilah started, "Can I talk to you?"

I nodded. "Yeah, sure," I answered. She nodded and led me to the other room. Once we got there, we both sat down, and I sat Sky down on my lap, holding her tight against the front of my torso. "Is somethin' wrong?" I asked with a confused look.

She quickly shook her head. "No, on, nothin's wrong. I just wanted to tell you something I'm excited for."

"Well, what is it then? Don't keep me in suspense here," I laughed.

"Alright, alright," Keilah said with a laugh, "I have a date tonight."

I smiled. "With who?"

"His name is Emmett Washington, and he's from my American History class at college."

"His last name is Washington, and your met him in your American History class… well, that sure is ironic."

"Yeah, I know." She looked a bit upset. "I really like him."

"If you like him so much, why don't you seem too happy?"

Keilah hesitated a bit. "Some people might not like the fact that we're going out cause we're… _different_… from each other."

I gave another confused look. "Care to shed some light on that, Kay?"

"Well, Emmett's African-American. I mean, I don't care about that either way, and I don't care 'bout the fact that he's black and I'm white. I just wanna make sure that there's someone else I know that I'm related to that doesn't care about that either when I tell everyone else."

I honestly saw no problem with the fact that they were going out. To be honest, I found it ridiculous that people still _did_ have a problem with it. I mean, we're all people, right? So why should it matter? And this goes for any race or nationality. But I could understand why Keilah was concerned, especially with the times. I guessed that she didn't want a home reenactment of _Guess Who's Coming to Dinner._

"I see no problem with it," I said nonchalantly and shrugged, "This is 1976, right? We've already had the Civil War a little over a hundred years ago, we've had the Civil Rights movement- and some people still don't get it. But I do, and I think it's great you two are gonna go out."

Keilah smiled. "Oh, great," she said with a relieved look on her face, I mean, I know you wouldn't have a problem with it, but I just wanted to be sure. I just don't want our own little version of _Guess Who's Coming to Dinner_, ya know?"

I couldn't help but laugh as I nodded at her words.

**Before I say anything else, I need to do like what I did in January.**

**Rest In Peace, Prince Rogers Nelson, known either as "Prince" or "the Artist Formerly Known as Prince". It was such a shame how you died, and honestly, I feel the same way I did when David Bowie died and when Robin Williams died. You've always been around my life, even when I was little and didn't really know who you were by name. I remember hearing my two favorite songs of yours on my still favorite radio station, which are "When Doves Cry" and "1999". I used to love "1999" and would get so excited to hear it and always go on about "that's the same year I was born!" and such. I also always loved your music cause it seemed that you loved purple, which has always been my favorite color. What kind of scares me about your death is that exactly five days previous, I was watching "Purple Rain" from 1984 on television, also that you were the same age as my father, only being about a month and a week older than him. And since he's a musician, I guess you could say that it kinda makes me nervous. But thank you, Prince, for all your years of music and all the songs you gifted the world with. You go down in history as a legend, right there with David Bowie, as well as hundreds of others before you.**

**"dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life. electric word life. it means forever and that's a mighty long time. but I'm here to tell you there's something else: the after world. a world of never ending happiness. you can always see the sun, day, or night. so when you call up that shrink in Beverly Hills, you know the one, Dr everything'll be alright, instead of asking him how much of your time is life, ask him how much of your mind, baby. cause in this life, things are much harder than in the after world. in this life, you're on your own."**

**I was gonna end it off there, but I need to point this out- racism was still a big problem throughout the 1970s and the 1980s too. So yeah.**


	34. February 14, 1977

_**February 14, 1977**_

It was kinda weird for me to actually be at Ponyboy's wedding. It wasn't a bad weird, but more like… _surreal_… I guess you could say. I mean, it kinda feels like just yesterday that he was that little fourteen year old boy with greased back hair, that wasn't too strong just yet since he hadn't hit puberty yet, who'd just gone through his first real run in with a group of Soc's.

Now, he was a tall, muscular twenty-five year old getting married.

As Ponyboy had gone through puberty, he grew more outspoken. He got tougher, tuffer, and more capable of defending himself and others, if need be. In his appearance, it became more obvious that he was brothers with both Darry and Soda; while Darry resembled their father, and Soda resembled their mother, he was a mixture of both parents, which made it more obvious he was definitely brothers with both other boys.

Even though it was a hit of reality to be at Ponyboy and Cherry's wedding, I couldn't have been happier for the two. Ever since 1969, there was a thing between them. We were all kinda rooting for the two to start going out years ago. Thankfully, neither of them cared that she was two years older, and they didn't care about that "tradition" in which the man in the relationship was usually older. Like I said, we were all rooting for them, so when the rest of us were told that they had gotten engaged, we all went nuts with excitement from the two.

"Hey, Rain," Evie began, "Could you hand me the can a' hairspray right over there, please?"

I nodded and quickly ran to get the can of hairspray. "Yeah, here," I said as I handed it to her as she worked on Cherry's hair as quickly as she possibly could.

"Remember when Marcia and I did your hair, Rain?" Cherry asked, looking at me using the mirror.

I smiled a bit at the memory. "Yeah, I do. When I played _Rose,_ your cousin from Georgia."

"You should've become an actress, Rain," Marcia said from the other side of the room, "You were real convincing that day."

"Are y'all talking about when she had to go do undercover work?" Candy asked.

Cherry nodded a bit, as much as she was allowed to. "That's right. She did real good, too. She didn't seem scared at all, even though she kept saying she was."

I rose my eyebrows in shock. "Are you kiddin' me?" I asked, "I was terrified."

"That's the reason I wanted to meet you," Evie said, still working on Cherry's hair, We wanted to meet the girl brave enough to go undercover for a whole day like you did… and I wanted to meet the girl brave enough to be dating Keith then."

"But look at them now," Marilyn stated, "The two a' you are married with two kids."

"Like you and Darry?" Candy asked, her voice teasing.

Marilyn laughed. "_And_ you and Soda."

Now Candy laughed. "I'm gonna have two red headed sisters-in-law, this is incredible."

"If you don't mind me asking," Evie started with a confused look on her face, "But what do you mean by that?"

"Ok," Candy began, "I'm not trying to sound racist cause I'm not, but: I always thought I'd end up with at least four Hispanic sisters-in-law, not two white girls."

This sent everyone in to a raging fit of laughter. We all knew what Candy was saying when she said it. She came from a large Hispanic family, and she had four younger brothers. As far as any of us knew, she was the only person in her family who'd married someone who wasn't the same ethnicity as the rest of the family. Her family had no problem with her marriage, and they weren't entirely shocked since she'd been so fascinated with America, since she was the first to be born in the United States. She told us that the first time she'd ever seen a couple that was a "mixed" marriage, she was in awe since she'd grown up with family all of the same background.

A knock on the door of the room somehow calmed us all down, yet we all still had a few chuckles left in us. The door began to creak open a little bit, and could see Mariah and DT outside in the hallway through the crack. Since Marilyn was ready, she slipped out the door and went out to her two small children. As she did so, Darry was exposed to all of use, all properly dressed in a tux for his little brother's wedding. He quickly looked down, just in case he might see _something._

"Everyone's ready out there," Darry started, "So when y'all are ready, we'll get started."

"You can look up, babe," Marilyn commented to her husband, "Everyone's already dressed." He hesitantly did as she allowed him, then let out a breath of relief when he did.

"The bride is all ready," Evie announced as she stepped away from _the bride._

"You ready, Cherry?" Marcia asked her with a smile; she was the maid of honor.

Cherry let out a deep breath before she nodded. "Yeah," she smiled, "I'm ready."

We all left the room after that, Cherry being the last to leave. All those who were in the wedding- Darry, Marilyn, Mariah, DT, Soda, Candy, Marcia and Randy- all waited in the hall. Those of us who were not- Keith, myself, Steve, and Evie- went into the sanctuary and to our seats. We were all seated together, along with having KJ, Sky, Patrick and Elizabeth with us; since Soda and candy were in the wedding, Steve and Evie had volunteered to watch their two young children.

"It's weird," Evie whispered, "I mean, it cute and sweet, but weird?"

"What's weird?" I whispered back.

"Ponyboy and Cherry getting' married. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for them, but it kinda makes me feel old, ya know?"

"Trust me, I get it. I mean, I'm only twenty-seven and married with two kids. I'm not sayin' I don't love 'em all, cause I do more than anything, but it does feel weird sometimes. When are you Steve gettin' married?"

"We'll talk later," Evie whispered then turned half of her attention to the wedding, the other half to the two almost two year olds they were in charge of.

The wedding ceremony lasted for around an hour and a half. I had to get up once during the ceremony to take Sky out to the bathroom to chance her, and KJ had fallen asleep on Keith's lap within forty-five minutes, then Sky followed right along with him on my lap. Patrick and Elizabeth did the same, and DT- the only who didn't fall asleep at all was Mariah, but even she had begun to doze off near the end.

They're little kids, give 'em a break.

After the wedding ceremony, there was a reception held at a restaurant in town. While Ponyboy and Cherry walked around the whole time, thanking and talking to guests, Evie walked up to me and found me where I sat with Candy.

"So," I began, "Gonna explain what we were talkin' about before?"

Candy gave a confused look. "What were the two of you talkin' 'bout?" she asked.

"I asked when her and Steve plan on getting married."

"Well, I'll answer you now," Evie answered a bit nervously, "We've decided we're not gonna get married, not yet anyway. We're both happy living together, and happy with our relationship, and it's just easier."

Candy gave a weird look. "So you two aren't gonna get legally married?"

Evie shook her head. "Not yet anyway. If we do decide to get married, it'll be when we both have more income. Does that make sense at all?"

I nodded a bit. "It's not too out of the ordinary," I answered, "If that's what the two a' you decided together, then it's alright."

**It's Katharine Hepburn's birthday, and TCM is having a marathon of her films. That's great cause in the acting department, she can do no wrong, and two movies I've been wanting to see are on so yay- **_**Holiday**_** and **_**The Philadelphia Story.**_

**Also, for those reading this, you may be interested in a story that I wrote that will be up within the time period of the next update in two weeks. It'll be a one-shot and it takes place in 1956. It's a one-shot featuring Mr and Mrs Curtis and the three brothers. Unless I change it, it'll be called "A Mother's Love", kind of a mother's day type story.**

**Anyone here read any good books lately? I finished reading "The Hunt" after a week and a half, and it was pretty good. If you like apocalyptic/ world war stuff, then I highly suggest it. Only two people I didn't want to die did die, but otherwise everyone else that was terrible that you kinda want to die, does, so that's that. Plus I started reading the original book of "Jurassic Park" cause I saw the films on television before I knew they were a book (at least the first two are books). So far, that book of the first film is so much better, and I love Dr. Ian Malcolm in both the book and film. He's so great and the only one with sense since he's been saying the park was gonna go wrong.**

**Also, if anyone here likes movies that are war related or action films, or films with explosions and shooting, or survival, I highly suggest a film from 1981 called "Southern Comfort". It's up on YouTube, but you have to confirm that you're eighteen to watch it there (it's rated R). if you wanna watch it, make sure it's the one from 1981 that has Keith Carradine, Fred Ward, Powers Boothe, and Lewis Smith (I added Lewis Smith cause he's my second favorite actor and this was his first film).**

**So yeah, anyway. Hope everyone's life is going good! Hope everyone is well, and hope everyone is nearly done with school (I'm done next week!) and that if you are, finish the year off with a bang. If you're graduating, I congratulate you.**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter, peace from all the hippies of the world. =^-^=**


	35. May 28, 1977

_**May 28, 1977**_

"What time is Emmett comin' over with Keilah again?" I asked both Keith and Mrs. Mathews.

"Keilah said around 6:30," Mrs. Mathews answered, "Or at least around then."

Keilah had been going out with a guy she'd met in one of her classes at the University of Tulsa. His name was Emmett Washington, and they'd met in her history class. They'd been going out since the middle of December in 1976. Nobody had met him just yet, but the same went for Keilah and his family. Because of this, all of us were going out to a restaurant together so we could all meet after a few months.

I'd be lying if I said this wasn't slightly nerve-wracking. The reason I say this is because I had no idea what to expect at the restaurant. None of us had ever met from either family, and I had no idea if each family knew that the other was of a different race. The way I mean that is: whether his family knew he was dating a white girl, or if anyone else other than me knew that Keilah was dating a black guy.

Honestly, I didn't see a problem with the fact that he was black and she was white. I didn't think it really made a difference- why should it, anyway? It was 1977 for crying out loud, so why was race still an issue? We're all human beings whether you're white, black, or whatever the heck you are. The only difference is your ethnicity and family background in history. In all honesty, I found the whole thing great, and it showed that there were other people who felt the same way I did about it.

Those that were going to the restaurant was me, Keith, Mrs. Mathews, Keilah, Emmett, his two brothers and his parents. We'd offered Eric and his girlfriend to come with us since they were family, but they couldn't make it due to a business dinner. Keith and I'd also be taking KJ and Sky with us to the dinner, since the Washington's said they wouldn't mind us bring them.

Which was a good thing. Cause then if they had a problem with my kids, they'd have a problem with me. _Anyone _who has a problem with my kids, had a problem with me.

I jumped a bit when the house phone began to ring. "I got it," I announced then ran over to the phone, "Hello?"

"_Hey,"_ Keilah's voice said, _"Is that you, Rain?"_

"Hey, Keilah. Yeah, it's Rain. Where're you and Emmett?"

"_There's been a slight change in plans. We're all still going out tonight, but Emmett and I are gonna meet you all there."_

"So the rest of us are just gonna meet the two a' you at the restaurant? Emmett's family too?"

"_Yeah, exactly," _Keilah answered, _"Is that alright?"_

I nodded to myself. "Yeah, sure," I answered, "We'll see you two soon." Then the line went dead.

"Ok," I began as I turned to face the two, picking up Sky, "We're all just gonna meet Keilah and Emmett at the restaurant, along with his family." The two nodded and we all left the house.

The five of us all piled into the car; Ketih got into the driver's seat, Mrs. Mathews in the passenger's seat, and I sat in the back with KJ and Sky. I strapped KJ into his seat on my left and held tight to Sky as he started the car and drove toward the direction of the restaurant. The whole ride there, I grew more and more worried about what might happen at dinner with both families there.

I could see Keilah in another area of the parking lot, and a taller dark skinned man with her, who I guessed to be Emmett. I wasn't sure if Keith saw them as he helped KJ out of the car, and the same went for Mrs. Mathews, but it seemed that neither noticed Keilah and Emmett in the parking lot. The five of us walked to the front door of the restaurant, walked in, and into the main area of the place. Since Emmett's family wasn't in the restaurant yet, we got a table that would fit all eleven people.

Not long after, Keilah, Emmett and who I guessed to be was Emmett's family all walked in. Keilah stood up and flagged Keilah over to the table. She smiled and nodded, then turned to Emmett to say something. He then nodded and turned to his family, probably to repeat what Keilah had said, and all six walked over to the table. His family all had confused looks on their faces as they approached the table, just like Keith and Mrs .Mathews now did. The only of everyone that didn't look confused was me, Keilah, Emmett, and the woman I guessed to be Emmett's mother. I mentally questioned why she didn't.

"Hi, Mom," Keilah greeted timidly, "Hi, Keith. Hi, Rain."

"Hi, Keilah," Keith greeted in a slightly confused tone, "Who's your friend?"

Keilah looked nervous. "Mom, Keith, Rain… this is my boyfriend, Emmett Washington. Emmett, this is my mom, brother, sister-in-law, and my nephew and my niece."

I stood forward and held out a hand to greet him. "Hi, Emmett," I smiled genuinely, "Keilah's told me a lot 'bout you."

Emmett gave a relieved smile as he shook my hand courteously. "It's great to meet you, Rain," he smiled, "Keilah's told me a lot about you, as well." He then gestured to his family. "This is my father, Tony. This is my mother, Carolina. And these are my younger brothers, Kurt and Jerry."

The nine of us all exchanged slightly awkward greetings, except for me and Carolina, for some odd reason. I couldn't figure out why it didn't feel awkward with her, and I again wondered about her. The fact that she didn't have a confused look came back into my mind, but I tried to ignore it, and happily accepted the greeting. We all then sat down, with Tony at the head of the table. Next to him was Carolina, then Jerry, then Kurt, then Emmett and Keilah. On the other side of him was Mrs. Mathews, Keith, KJ, a special chair where Sky sat, then me.

There was an obvious tension that surrounded the table, so much that even KJ and Sky felt it. There was forced conversation to try and ease the tension, but it wasn't working. This went on all the way through the appetizer, through dinner, and up until anyone who was having ordered coffee and dessert. By then, I'd had enough of the tension and decided to speak up and out about it.

"Ok," I began, gaining everyone's attention, but still speaking in a tone that wouldn't scare KJ or Sky, "I'm sorry, but I've had enough of this tension. I mean, for cryin' out loud, my one year old daughter can feel it. Look, all of us were shocked tonight to meet each other, and it's gone on this whole time. Let's talk 'bout the elephant in the room: we're white, and you're black. Was it a bit shocking to find out Keilah's dating a black man? Sure, it is- no offense. I bet it's the same for you two, Mr. and Mrs. Washington, for your son to be dating a white girl. Am I right?"

Everyone except Carolina nodded. She stood up a bit. "I wasn't surprised, actually," she admitted, "Emmett told me before their first date.

_That's why she wasn't shocked and it didn't feel awkward with her,_ I thought. "And Keilah told me. Now look, I think we should all just clear the air and say how we really felt 'bout this, ok? Can we do that? I'll even be the first: I see no problem with their relationship at all, and I'm happy for them."

Caroline spoke up next: "I feel the same as Rain." She looked at me, smile and winked. I couldn't help but smile back at her.

"I have no problem," Mrs. Mathews said with a shrug, "I'm not gonna lie, I was kinda shocked at first. I think it just needed to sink in."

"You seem really nice," KJ said, looking at Emmett, "But be nice to Aunty Kay!"

Nearly everyone laughed at his words. "I will, KJ," Emmett smiled genuinely, "I promise."

"Honestly," Kurt sighed, I'm not completely alright with it, but I guess I can learn to live with it."

"I'm the same as my Ma," Keith answered. I smiled at him, and he did the same.

Jerry shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm with Rain and my mom on this one," he said.

We all looked at Tony Washington, who looked unhappy and uneasy. His wife looked at him with pleading eyes, and I felt sorry for her, and nervous for what he was going to say. "I'm not happy with it," he said in a flat tone, "I'm not promising anything, but I'll do my best to live with it. It's my son's life, and it's his decision."

Emmett and Keilah looked at each other and smiled, and he wrapped his arm around her happily, pulling her close to him as she hugged his torso. Those around the table finally shared genuine words of happiness with each other, and I smiled at the scene going around me.

The awkward tension disappeared for the rest of the night, and I couldn't have been happier about it.

**I finished school officially, I'm so happy. I am no longer a junior in high school, I'm now a senior oh my gahd. To celebrate that, I watched movies all day on Monday; I watched: **_**Mad Dog Time, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension, Oscar**_** and **_**Young Frankenstein.**_** It was great.**

**Also, for this story, I just want to point out the race issue. In the 1970s, race was still an issue. Granted, as time went on, interracial marriage and relationships were not as frowned upon as time went on, but racism was still an issue at the time. I know this partly firsthand, due to the fact that my mother- who was born in the early 1960s- told me that her parents told her to "never bring a black man home". My mother's parents were racist- against many races, actually- but my mother is not, and neither is my father or anyone I know. Granted, in this story, I made them all understandable, but not everyone who has been in this situation probably has not been so lucky.**

**I don't know how updating will go for this story or any other stories for the rest of the summer, since I'm trying to find a summer job. I know that, if something happens, I will at least be updating once a month instead of twice a month (so once every four weeks rather than once every two weeks). This is not a definite yet, so as far as I know, it'll still be once every two weeks. **

**Oh, I just wanna say that I saw the new **_**Captain America: Civil War**_** film. It was so amazerful, oh my gahd. Me and my dad went without my mom cause she hates that kinda of stuff. Me and my dad loved it and when my mom asked us how it was we'd say, "it was great, but you would've hated it." Me and my dad pretty much like all the same film type stuff (except for alien sci fi stuff, with the exception of a few) and my mom doesn't so yeah.**

**Anyway, hope you guys liked the chapter! And since I won't be updating till after the holiday- Happy Memorial Day! Peace from all the hippies of the world =^-^=**


	36. September 5, 1977

**_Monday, September 5, 1977_**

"You ready for your first day of kindergarten, KJ?" I asked with a smile and an enthusiastic tone of voice.

KJ looked up at me and smiled brightly. "Yeah!" he answered with an excited nod.

Both KJ and Mariah were starting their very first day of kindergarten. We'd gotten lucky, since KJ was born the first day of September. Since that was his birthday, he'd just made the date of birth for whether or not he'd get into a specific class or not. We were glad he'd been able to be in Mariah's class, that way they both had their best friend with them- also, even though he was one of the youngest in their class, he wouldn't be a year behind than he should've just because of his birth date.

I had taken the day off from work just so I'd be there for KJ's first of kindergarten. He'd be staying there the whole regular school day, which at the moment for him would be until 2:30 in the afternoon. I'd say that was a pretty good time, that way, I'd have more time before I had to pick him up. Which would be easier for the time being, since Sky wasn't even two years old yet. Now, I wouldn't have to rush around in the afternoon.

These were the things that made everything seem so surreal. Sometimes it felt a bit unreal, being married with two kids. Not to mention that nearly everyone I'd grown up with through my childhood and teenage years was also married and had kids, or expecting. I'm not complaining, don't get me wrong, but it did feel a bit odd at times. Like, when you just randomly realize and think, _Wow, this is my life, _it's always a bit of a temporary eye opener, or reality check. Then it kinda feels like you've blinked you years, and ten years have passed- yet so much has happened and changed.

Before either of us could say anything else, Keith came into the room with Sky, holding her high in the air. She was giggling as he made sounds with his mouth. I laughed as the scene in front of me as I picked up KJ, who'd already begun to laugh. I had him high in the air as well, and he began to laugh.

"The incredible flying kids," Keith laughed.

"KJ the Flying Boy," I laughed, "And Sky the Soaring Girl!"

After this game had continued and finished, I set KJ down on the couch, and Keith set down Sky right next to him on the cushions. I looked at the clock, which read 8:05 in the morning. We had to be at the school by 8:30 in the morning.

"We should probably get goin'," I pointed out.

Keith nodded and grabbed KJ's small backpack for school, which wasn't much bigger than him. "Not a bad idea," he agreed and took KJ's hand as he got down from the couch, "Me and KJ'll go to the car."

I nodded as the two walked out the front door. I grabbed Sky's bag, picked her up in my arms, then walked out, making a quick check that everything was turned off. Once I saw that everything was turned off, I walked outside to the car. Keith had already helped KJ into the backseat, then helped me put Sky in her seat next to her older brother. Keith and I then got into the front seat, him in the driver's side, and me in the passenger's side.

"Think he'll freak out when we leave?" I asked in a hushed tone of voice.

Keith shrugged a bit. "Who knows?" he said, "I know Keilah did when she went for the first time."

"Did you?"

"I was upset when my mom had to leave, yeah. But I'm pretty sure it's normal."

"Yeah, I guess so."

Keith set one hand on my leg in a comforting way. "It's gonna be fine. I mean, he did pretty fine at his first day a' preschool last year."

"That was for only half of the day, though," I insisted.

"That don't make a different to KJ," Keith said, "Sure, he kinda know how to read, but he can't tell time yet."

I started to think that I was having separation issues. I know that a lot of mom's had problems whenever some big milestone in their child's life. I'm not gonna lie, I'd get nervous about whether or not I'd get that way, and now I had a feeling that I did. Honestly, I didn't want to get nervous like that about every little thing, only the major things… but then again, when you think about it: this is parenting. Isn't every little thing in a child's life major and important?

We pulled into the parking lot of the small school and parked the car. Keith and I got out from the car to get KJ and Sky from the back seat. He too KJ and his backpack while I took Sky. The four of us walked toward the front entrance, occasionally glancing at the other families in the area. I knew Darry and Marilyn would be somewhere with Mariah and DT, but at the moment, I couldn't find any of them.

Once we reached an empty area of the lot near the school, the four of us stopped. Keith leaned down and helped KJ pull his backpack onto his shoulders. He smiled excitedly, and I couldn't help but smile back. I leaned down to him and set Sky on her feet onto the concrete so she could walk, even though she was a bit unsteady on her feet. I held onto both of her hands to keep her from falling as she stood.

"So you're really ready for your first day of kindergarten?" Keith asked in a gentle tone.

KJ nodded eagerly. "Yeah," he smiled.

"Mariah's in your class, too, ya know," I pointed out.

"What 'bout you and Daddy and Sky?"

Keith and I exchanged weird looks before looking back at KJ. "Well, we don't go in with you," I said slowly and gently, "But we pick you up later on."

KJ began to frown. "Like at preschool?"

"A little bit," Keith answered a bit sadly, "But you're gonna have a lot fun, even without us here."

I nodded. "Yeah, and then later one, we're gonna come and pick you up."

KJ looked up hopefully. "After lunch?"

"Well, a little after lunch- but now you get to have more fun during the day."

The two of us spent the next five to ten minutes trying to comfort KJ. He was obviously upset about the fact that we wouldn't be with him, but it seemed as if he kinda understood that he'd be there for the majority of the day without either of us physically there with him. My heart broke to see him so upset about it, but I know- sadly- that there'd probably be multiple other times, probably hundreds of millions of times in the future that he'd be disappointed.

The school day begun and me, Keith and Sky all left. To say that I was nervous throughout the entire day would be a complete lie and understatement. I'd grew more and more nervous throughout the course of the day that maybe he'd freak out or that he got into trouble… something! I knew Sky could tell I was nervous, cause she actually asked me as best as she could, "Why Mama sad?"

At the end of the day, Keith, Sky and me drove to the school. This time I could see Darry, Marilyn and DT in the crowd. We walked over to them, exchanging multiple greetings. The group of us waited until the school bell rang, and the kids would all be released to their families and parents.

"Their first day of kindergarten," Marilyn breathed out, "They're growin' up, Rain."

"Shut up," I laughed, "Don't make me feel old."

"Hey, I'm older than you, how do you think I feel?"

"Good point." She gave a feigned offended look at my words, then laughed, and I did the same.

Before anyone could get another word in, the school bell rang. The six of us walked into the school and to the kindergarten classroom. A row of what looked to be around twenty backpacks and light jackets lined the wall outside the classroom, and I grabbed KJ's backpack. The teacher opened the door to the classroom, exposing the twenty or so children in the room. I could see KJ and Mariah playing with each other, along with a few other kids. I smiled at the scene, happy that nothing had gone wrong.

When the two saw all of us, they ran out of the classroom and past the teacher toward us; KJ ran out first, then Mariah behind him. I leaned down to KJ as he ran out and practically jumped on top of me.

"Hi, sweetheart," I smiled, "How'd you like your first day of kindergarten?"

"It was fun!" KJ smiled.

"We both made new friends,' Mariah informed with a smile.

"Well," Marilyn stated, "You two get to see them again tomorrow."

The two smiled, and I couldn't but smile myself as the eight of us left the building.

**This story is so cute at times, really. But the next chapter is gonna be kinda… I don't know, shocking? Rude? Terrible? I don't know.**

**I finished reading ****_The Lost World_**** by Michael Crichton. It was great. My favorite character- Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum in the first two ****_Jurassic Park_**** films) was high on morphine for the majority of the second half, or the last third of the book. Ironically, it was pretty much that way in the first book as well. It was funny, especially cause he gets really cynical and philosophical when he's high, it's amazing. Now I'm reading ****_Buckaroo Banzai_**** by Earl Mac Rauch; the film from 1984 is my second favorite film in my top three (****_Rhinestone _****from 1984 being my first, then ****_This Is Spinal Tap_**** from 1984 being my third). Supposedly the book came first, but it's suggested to watch the film first.**

**By the way- please wish me luck! Right before I finished typing this, I got a call from Chick-Fil-A. I submitted an application for work there yesterday, and I got a call to schedule an interview, which is tomorrow, so wish me luck (I'm sixteen and need a job so yeah).**

**So yeah, I think that's it. Alright, hope you enjoyed the chapter, peace from all the hippies of the world. =^-^=**


	37. PLEASE READ THIS AUTHORS NOTE

_**NOT A REAL UPDATE, BUT PLEASE READ THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE**_

This week I would've updated the next chapter of _**The Power Of Love**_, along with my other five stories. I cannot fulfill this update for this week, like I usually would. Due to certain events going on in my life, that have been since right after I finished updating two weeks ago, so I've been kinda all over the place. This has caused a huge case of writers block for me, and I wasn't able to finish all the newest chapters for each of my stories. With this, I apologize for not being able to upload this week like my usual updating schedule/pattern. I will continue this back up in another two weeks, as if I had updated this week. That way, I will have an entire month this time to write the newest chapters in each of my stories, and a total of two chapters will already be done for each story- if it all goes according to plan- and then even if I get massive writers block again, I'll already have a chapter done so that I can update.

Again, I apologize for the next two weeks of waiting for the next chapter. After these two weeks, when I update, I will continue updating every other week. Thank you, and peace from all the hippies of the world.

As a thank you for your patience, here's at least a preview of what I do have of the next chapter:

_**Chapter 37: September 30, 1977**_

"In a way, yes. I only say this because I don't want KJ to get confused between the proper way of reading, and the way you and your husband might read."

I raised an eyebrow. "The way me and my husband read? How do you mean that?"

"Well, I know you both didn't actually attend and finish school, so I really don't think the two of you are fit for teaching KJ how to read."

That's when I felt my blood begin to boil. Did I know that Keith didn't officially finish high school or attend college? Of course I knew. Did I know that I didn't officially finish college? Or that I wasn't the greatest student throughout the school? Of course- but what did any of that have to do with teaching my child? It's not like we were teaching him biochemistry to turn him into the next child Einstein. He's five years old and wanted to read with us, so we taught him how to read a bit.

"Are you implying me and my husband are too dumb to teach our son anythin'?" I asked, the edge of my voice as sharp as a knife.


	38. September 30, 1977

_**September 30, 1977**_

I'd gotten used to KJ being away until the middle of the afternoon after a few weeks. Of course, I'd get worried about how he was doing during the day every once in a while, but I'd do my best to try and ignore my personal nerves and go by the fact that KJ's a good kid- and it helped that the school was supposed to call the parents if something was ever wrong or if something bad had happened with their child.

I'd be a liar if I said that life wasn't a bit less hectic with KJ being in school. Since I would leave the radio station a little after elven in the morning, probably eleven-thirty the latest, I'd drive to Mrs. Mathews by twelve to pick up Sky, then drive back into town to go and pick up KJ at preschool. But now that he'd be at the school till two-thirty in the afternoon every day, I didn't have to rush around to go and pick up KJ then go and get Sky. It was really a time saver.

I'm not saying that I don't love having my kids around- cause I do, obviously- but everyone needs a break sometimes… especially when you have two kids, aged five and two and a half.

For the morning, Sky was with Keilah and Emmett. The two had been going out for almost a year now, and were still as infatuated with each other like they saw each other for the first time. Both families had gained the respect of the opposite family. Granted, Emmett's father- Tony Washington- was still a bit hesitant at times since we were white, but he could tolerate us and be civilized with us. He still seemed conflicted with the rest of us, but that he was slowly- but surely- easing when he was with us. We'd decided to be gentle around him, and let him fully get comfortable with us when he was good and ready- especially since there was a good chance that he'd end up being in-laws with us.

Sky and KJ really liked to be with Emmett and Keilah. It was actually really cute to see the four together, especially since there was a very large possibility of Emmet eventually becoming their uncle in the future. I mean, it's completely obvious how much those two are in love with each other, so we all could totally see the two getting married and starting a family together in the near future. They were young, they were in love, and they weren't afraid of the garbage they'd get from the rest of the world cause he's black and she's white.

Once it was twenty minutes to two-thirty, I left the house and drove toward the kindergarten. I put Sky in her seat in the back, making sure she was secure in the seat, then drove off. It took about ten minutes to drive there, and another five minutes to find a parking spot. Once I parked the car, I took Sky out from the backseat and held her hand tight as we walked into the building and to the classroom. By the time we got there, the class had ended, and children were already being released to their parents.

As KJ ran out, his teacher- Miss Emily Bower- walked out behind him. She looked over all the children in her class with a smile. She then walked up to me as KJ slipped on his sweater and backpack, then started to play around and do things in attempt to make Sky laugh, in which he succeeded. I smiled at the scene in front of me as the teacher walked over to me.

"Hello, Mrs. Mathews," Miss Bower greeted happily, "They're such precious children."

I gave a proud smile as I glanced at the two playing. "Thanks," I smiled, "I'm really lucky to have them. So, how's KJ doin' in school?"

"He's doing good. I actually wanted to talk to you, though, once all the students have been picked up in about ten to fifteen minutes. Can you just wait here a little while?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll just wait outside on the playground with Sky and KJ." When she nodded, I then took the two outside, and let them run around on the playground- KJ in the larger park, and Sky in the smaller park.

While I waited, Marilyn had come by to pick up Mariah. I'd asked her if she could watch KJ and Sky while I talked with their teacher. She agreed, and let them play around the playground with both DT and Mariah. I gave a small smile and a quick 'thanks' before running inside the school to meet the teacher at the front steps of the school building. Once I reached the front door, she led me to her office, and I sat down a bit uneasily, nervous of what she had to say.

"Is something wrong with KJ?" I asked as I sat down in front of the desk.

Miss Bower shook her head as she sat down in her seat behind the desk. "No, not really," she answered, "I just wanted to ask you about something."

"Ok, go ahead."

"Does KJ read at home? Before he ever started attending school here and after?"

I thought for a moment. "Actually, yeah. At the beginning of summer this year, he wanted to read a few comics and stories with me and my husband, so we taught him how to read and write a little."

Miss Bower looked displeased. "That's what I thought…"

I gave a look of both confusion and worry. "Why? Is that a problem?"

"Yes and no," Miss Bower answered honestly, "You see, we have a specific and very strict curriculum in which we follow here, especially when teaching the kindergarteners how to read and write. We prefer to use that specific system to teach them, and to be honest, we prefer for the parents _not_ to use another system or technique when the children are still learning how to read. This way, the child will not get confused in any way, shape or form."

"What're you sayin'?" I asked, "That we should stop teachin' him how to read and write?"

"In a way, yes. I only say this because I don't want KJ to get confused between the proper way of reading, and the way you and your husband might read."

I raised an eyebrow. "The way me and my husband read? How do you mean that?"

"Well, I know you both didn't actually attend and finish school, so I really don't think the two of you are fit for teaching KJ how to read."

That's when I felt my blood begin to boil. Did I know that Keith didn't officially finish high school or attend college? Of course I knew. Did I know that I didn't officially finish college? Or that I wasn't the greatest student throughout the school? Of course- but what did any of that have to do with teaching my child? It's not like we were teaching him biochemistry to turn him into the next child Einstein. He's five years old and wanted to read with us, so we taught him how to read a bit.

"Are you implying me and my husband are too dumb to teach our son anythin'?" I asked, the edge of my voice as sharp as a knife.

Miss Bower seemed to panic a bit now. "No, not exactly," she stuttered.

"Cause it sure seems that way to me. Now if you wanna call me and my husband stupid, go ahead, I don't care. But when you start bringin' my kids into it, that's where I draw the line. I know me and my husband aren't the brightest people around, book wise- he owns part of a car repair garage with our family, and I'm a DJ at the radio station- but we're not stupid, at least when it comes to morals and raising our kids. And if you can stand there and say that our book smarts _do_ have any affect on our parenting skills and how we raise and teach our kids, then you could just take your claim and shove it!"

Miss Bower continued to look at me, eyes wide out of fear and shock at my sudden rant. Her mouth gaped open, trying to find the words to say in response to my outburst.

I stood up hastily from my seat, an angry expression formed over my facial features. "Now if you excuse me," I said, "I'm goin' to go read my children a story."

I stomped out from the classroom, down the hallway, and out the door. I stood for a moment once I got outside, trying to locate Marilyn with the kids on the playground. When I saw her with the four kids on one side of the playground all together, I walked over to them and over to where Marilyn was standing. We stood together as they children ran around a blank area of the playground, both smiling at the four kids playing happily with each other. I slightly envied their complete oblivion to anything wrong in the world. The two of us walked over to the closest bench by where the kids played, our eyes on them at all times.

"How'd it go with Miss Bower?" Marilyn asked out of genuine curiosity.

I continued to look forward as the four kids ran around playing. "Just great," I answered in a flat and monotone voice.

**First, I want to apologize for skipping the two week update this month, but updates should continue every two weeks like usual at this point. Let me explain in simple statements what has been going on in my life lately, both good and bad, that will hopefully give insight to certain things as reason for my absence (things may be out of order, but you'll get the gist of it):**

**Writers block. Apartment problems. Housing problems. Family issues. Thankful about job layoffs. Finding Dory. Independence Day (the first film). Independence Day: Resurgence. The Fourth of July. VBS church planning. Rewriting of my own story. Family visits. Birthdays. Wedding anniversaries. Barbecues. College searching. Job hunting. Wayward Pines. Short stories. Reading. Go Set a Watchman. The Godfather (book, not film). Gift searching. Personal issues. Skit practicing. Goodbye lunches. Apartment hunting. Future planning. Family visiting. **

**I think that's all, in simple statements without getting into details.**

**Anyway, like I said, updates should be every other week as usual, unless something happens.**

**Ok, that's it. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, happy late Fourth of July, and peace from all the hippies of the world.**


	39. October 3, 1977

_**October 3, 1977**_

To say I'd been in a rotten mood since Miss Bower basically called us stupid would be a major understatement.

Am I overreacting? You know what, maybe I am- but a teacher has no right to tell a parent how to raise their child. Quite honestly, it's none of their business how I raise KJ and Sky. I want to help and give them a head start on reading and writing, and they're not getting confused, so what's the problem? Sure, I haven't done that with Sky yet, but maybe in two year's time, I will. But if KJ wants to get started on reading- which he did- why should me and Keith help him? If he wants to read before he started school, ok. Fine. Then we'll get him started.

But if you say that we aren't fully qualified to help our children even get a slight head start if they wish, that's where I draw the line.

I mean, I get it if this was math or science, but reading and writing? It's not that bad if you ask me. I mean, I know how to read, and I know how to write. I'm not the best at math or science, but I know the basics and how to get by. If KJ had asked me how to balance the equation of the speed of light, I wouldn't- well, for one thing, I'd wonder where the hell a five year old heard that- but I wouldn't be able to help him, and to be honest, I wouldn't even try. But that's cause I know I'd be no help at all.

But how to read and write simple words? Now that I can do.

SO was it wrong for me to be offended by what Miss Bower had said? I honestly don't think so- but that's just me.

"I see nothing wrong with your reaction," Marilyn said with a slight shrug.

"Me either," Sandy answered, "No teacher has the right to tell you what to or what not to teach your child. I mean, there are things a child should be older for them to learn, but not in this case." We still saw her and Danny, considering I still worked part time at the bookstore, but they saw Darry and Marilyn a lot more than the rest of us, most likely for the reason that Marilyn and Sandy were cousins.

"That's exactly what I think," I informed, "But according to _Miss Bower_, Keith and I are too stupid to do that."

"Can't you sue the school or somethin' for her calling you stupid?" Candy asked, "Or file a complaint?"

Evie shook her head. "You can't sue the teacher if she didn't actually come out and say _you're stupid_, or somethin' like that," she answered; she'd recently become a grade school teacher, still only learning to be one, so she knew the details of being a teacher.

Candy gave an annoyed look. "Well, _that's _stupid. I mean, if Patrick and Ellie's future teachers ever called either of us stupid, I'd totally try to sue."

I thought for a moment then nodded. "I can understand that."

"Did you tell Keith?" Cherry asked.

I nodded. "He's meeting with Miss Bower right now- or at least he should be. We both thought it'd be best if I didn't go."

Cherry had been trying to gather all the information she could about the school and the teachers. A few months after she and Ponyboy had gotten married, we all went to their house, and they announced the pregnancy. She was due at the end of January this upcoming year. I'd be a liar to say I wasn't jealous of how her body wasn't reacting to the pregnancy- considering the only "symptom" she had so far was nausea, but that was it. So considering how I was for both KJ and Sky, I think I have a right to be jealous of that.

Not long after that, I left the bookstore and went to get KJ and Sky from Keilaha and Emmett. They had offered to watch the two, since they all got along so well with each other; KJ and Sky loved Keilah, of course, and they really liked it when Emmett was around. I took that as a good sign for the two, considering people always say that children and animals are the best to decide on the romantic partner with a person, since for some reason, they're all brutally honest. If that honesty was ever intentional or unintentional, I would never be able to tell, but I found it quite amusing at times.

After I picked up the two, I drove in the direction of the school. Once I drove into the parking lot and parked the car in a spot, I helped KJ and Sky out from the car, taking one of both of their hands so that they both could walk. KJ was nearly running and jumping due to his excited and animated personality, and Sky was padding her rubber shoes against the pavement as fast as she possibly could, trying to keep up with her big brother. I had to gently pull him back a bit, repeating, "don't run", which would make him slow down.

Once we entered the school, I lead the two toward Miss Bower's classroom. I made sure to walk quietly, as well as reminding KJ and Sky to remain quiet since we were in the school. Once we approached the classroom, I noticed that the door of the classroom was closed. I leaned forward and peeked in through the window to try and see what was going on. I saw Miss Bower sitting behind her desk, as Keith was standing in front of the desk, an angry look on his face. I then got as close to the door as I possibly could, trying to hear what was being said without being too obvious.

"_I really don't like what you said to my wife,_" I heard Keith say angrily, _"Who told you that it was a good idea to criticize parents way of raisin' their kids? And to call them dumb?"_

"_Well, I didn't come out and say that she was dumb,"_ Miss Bower tried to defend, _But rather-"_

"_She was still smart enough to get what you were tryin' to say. And aside from that, so what if we wanna help KJ learn to read? He doesn't seem very confused at home when he reads. And either way, it's none a' your business how we raise KJ or spend time with him, and you have no right to tell us _not_ to teach our son somethin'! We're his parents, and it's our job to decide what's best for him- and I'd say we're doin' a pretty good job… I think I've made my point."_

I watched in slilght amazement and he headed toward the door. He stopped, turned around slightly, then said, _"And if you think my son isn't smart enough to, _'properly learn to ready', _cause his _'dumb'_ parents are helpin' him learn to read, I'll make sure my daughter doesn't have you as a teacher when she's in kindergarten so you don't gotta deal with another _'stupid' _Mathews' kid."_ He then turned back around, then left the classroom.

"That sure was somethin'," I commented when he reached me.

Keith gave a questioning look. "You heard all that?" he asked.

"Not all of it, but a good chunk of it, yeah."

"Did KJ and Sky?"

"Not as far as I know."

"Ok, good," Keith said and let out a relieved sigh, "In that case, what'd ya think of my little show?" He bent down to pick u pSky as we all walked.

I chuckled as I took KJ's hand in my own. "Very impressive," I complimented, "You made me think of all those cliché dads who do everything to protect their families."

"Isn't that what they're supposed to do?"

I shrugged teasingly. "Don't know. I'm not a dad."

He laughed. "You've been hanging around me for too long now."

"Want me to stop?"

"No way."

**My dad's birthday is this week, as well as my parents wedding anniversary. I bought my dad **_**Spaceball's**_** on dvd for his birthday. Then for their anniversary, I wanted to get them both **_**Serial Mom**_**, but couldn't find it, so I bought my parents both their own two gifts. I bought my dad his favorite Elton John album:**_** Madman Across the Water**_**, and his favorite Frank Zappa album: **_**One Size Fits All.**_** I'm so proud of myself for finding those three, cause they were so hard to find, oh my gahd. Then for my mom I bought her season three of the new **_**Hawaii Five-O**_**, and a Whitney Houston cd, one of those **_**the best of**_** type things. Season three of the new **_**Hawaii Five-O**_** has some of the best guest stars, like the ones I always miss on television as reruns at like three in the morning with C. Thomas Howell, Peter Weller, and Dog the Bounty Hunter.**

**Anyway, I don't know what else to say or talk about, so that's it, I guess. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and peace from all the hippies of the world. =^-^=**


	40. January 30, 1978

_**January 30, 1978**_

"What does that say, KJ?" I heard Keith say from the living room.

There was a temporary silence from the living room until I heard KJ speak up a moment later. "Keith Mathews, Junior," he said slowly, making sure to sound out each word.

"Good! That's your name, but we all call you _KJ_ for short, since my name is Keith, too."

"We have the same name, Daddy?"

"Kinda. Mommy's and Daddy's can name their kid's after them if they want to. Mostly, that happens with little boys like you, and not with little girls like Sky. But it can get confusing if we were both _Keith Mathews_, so since I was named that first, we put _Junior_ after yours. And said it doesn't get confusing, we call you _KJ_ for short."

"Cause Keith starts with a K and Junior starts with a J?" KJ tried to clarify.

"That's right, good job," Keith encouraged.

I smiled to myself as I walked out from the kitchen in the direction of Sky's bedroom. When I walked in, she was on the floor playing with the dollhouse that Keith had built for her. She looked up when I walked in, smiled, and got up from her spot on the floor. I squatted down to the floor as she ran toward me as fast as she physically could, making it easier for her as she jumped into my arms and tried to wrap her tiny arms around my neck. I hugged her tight against my torso, swinging her back and forth a bit, which made her start to giggle.

"Hi, Mama," Sky said with a smile.

"Hi, baby girl," I smiled back, "What're you up to?"

Sky released me and ran back over to her dolls. She picked up two of the store bought dolls then came back over to me. "Playing with dolls."

This was one of the harder parts about having a daughter for me. When I was growing up, I didn't play with dolls a lot, unless it was at school. Even then, that wasn't a lot, either. I could never really get into the activity of playing with dolls, ever in my entire life- and it probably didn't help that I was around more guys than girls when I was a kid. I always tried my best when Sky asked me to play with her dolls with her, and she seemed to have a good time when we did, so that's a good thing. To me, as long as she was happy and was enjoying it, that's all that mattered.

I sat down with her on the floor of her room and began to play with her. This continued for about five minutes until Keith knocked on the door and stood in the doorway. "We need to head over to the hospital," he announced, not looking nervous at all.

Not knowing the situation, I of course felt panic begin to rise in me. "What's wrong?" I asked nervously.

"No, nothin's wrong, calm down. But Darry just called- Cherry and Ponyboy are at the hospital."

"Is she havin' the baby?"

"Yes she is."

Ponyboy and Cherry had gotten married just a little around a year ago. A few months after they were married, they had a dinner at their house, saying they had an announcement to make. That night, they told us all that she was pregnant with their first child. We had all congratulated the two on their announcement on them becoming parents, then kept teasing the two on how they didn't waste any time on starting their family together. They both had cheeks as red as her hair the entire night from what we had said.

The four of us all left the house a little while after the phone call. Keith and I took KJ and Sky with us- obviously- and gently set them in them in the backseat of the car. We all drove off to the hospital in a period of fifteen minutes. Once we got there, the two of us grabbed the two quickly from the backseat of the car, then rushed into the hospital. We asked the nurse at the front desk what room "Sherri Curtis" was in, then rushed up to the room number she told us.

When we all got to the room, we saw that everyone was already there. "Why're we always the last to get here?" I asked in a quiet voice.

Keith shrugged a bit. "Save the best for last in everything," he answered nonchalantly, and I couldn't help but laugh.

The four of us walked up to the group of our friends, letting KJ and Sky sit in the waiting area with Mariah, DT, Patrick and Ellie. The waiting area wasn't far away from where the rest of us stood, so we all could keep our eyes on them and the surrounding area. The six were all playing around with each other, smiling and giggling, and I wished that I had my camera with me.

"How long have they been here?" I asked as I walked up to the group of girls that I'd known for years now.

"A couple hours, I think," Marilyn answered, "Ponyboy didn't call me and Darry till about half an hour to forty-five minutes ago."

"Good thing Cherry's a pediatrician," Evie commented, "She probably knew what was goin' on the whole time."

"It's not that hard to tell," Candy mentioned, "Trust me, it's really not."

Marilyn and I both nodded in agreement. "She's not wrong."

The rest of the day was spent waiting for news on Cherry and Ponyboy. A few of us went to go take the kids down to the cafeteria of the hospital and to walk around with them, knowing they'd get bored just sitting. We had been doing things with the kids so they wouldn't get bored while waiting- but we also made sure not to go too far away in case we had to be reached about any news.

A few hours later, once we were all back at the room, Ponyboy came out from the room. He had a weary smile on his face. "Anyone wanna come in?" he asked. We all took turns going in, obviously letting Darry and Sodapop in first. We all then went in by two's, since that was all that was allowed in one room at one time- not including both Cherry and Ponyboy. The kids also all went in with their parents, since they were an exception to the rule since they were still little, so KJ and Sky both came in with Keith and me.

The four of us walked into the room quietly, then walked over to where Cherry and Ponyboy were by the bed. In her arms was a little blue bundle.

"Boy?" Keith half asked, half stated.

"That's right," Ponyboy answered.

"What's his name?" I asked curiously.

"Jonathan Ponyboy Curtis," Cherry answered in a quiet voice.

"Who picked the name?"

"That was a mutual agreement." Her voice was a bit teasing, as well as her grin.

Ponyboy shrugged a bit. "I wasn't too keen on the idea of having a _Ponyboy Michael Curtis, Junior_, so we agreed on my name being his middle name."

"What about Jonathan?" Keith inquired, "Y'all know a nickname for it, right?"

Ponyboy and Cherry shared a loot. "We know," Cherry answered, "We thought 'bout that. And we thought it'd be a nice tribute to him."

We all smiled in agreement at their decision and explanation.

**I started my senior year (last year) of high school this past Monday. I'm graduating in May 2017 (I do online school, and the University I do it through graduates in May, and they have one whole bit ceremony for all the graduates of that year. It's pretty cool. My mom watched the graduation online when she graduated a few years back through the online academy. For the high school students who did school online, they sit altogether in a different color than the college graduates, so they're clearly seen in the huge crowd. All the college graduates have black gowns and hats on, then you just see a little sea of blue- that's the high school graduating class. It's seriously cool. We already got hotel rooms for graduation since it's not in New Jersey, but it Virginia- that hotel is now all booked up, but me and my mom are good, we got our rooms. My distant cousin (who we're oddly close with) from my dad's side and her husband are planning on coming to see me graduate. I'm excited.**

**Anyway, I'm rambling, I'm sorry. **

**Just so you know, since I'm now in school, I might make updates for this story and my others all once a month rather than twice a month. I have a creative writing class, so I'll have those writings, plus a paper for earth science, I believe. It'll be less rushed on me. I know it seems a bit selfish but in a way it's not, cause when my writing is rushed, my writing sucks and I don't want you guys all have to suffer just cause I'm stressed out. So in two weeks, there will be no update. In four weeks from now, there will be. Another four weeks, another update. Again, I apologize for this change, but I just don't want to rush things if I don't have to cause I'll already be stressed enough with this being my senior year, and applying for colleges and retaking the SAT and studying to get my drivers permit and license. Plus I'm looking for a job, so yeah.**

**Anyway. Hope you enjoyed the chapter- see you in four weeks. Peace from all the hippies of the world.**


	41. May 12, 1978

_May 12, 1978_

Keith, KJ, Sky and me all walked into Emmett's average size apartment, Mrs. Mathews following right behind us. KJ held his little's smaller hand tightly but gently in his own as they walked in front of me. We all followed Emmett into the apartment and waited for him as he closed the door and entered in behind us. He greeted each of us individually, even KJ and Sky, then led us to the living room of his apartment.

Emmett and Keilah had been getting more and more serious about their feelings for each other during the last few months. She would always come talk to me, or go and talk to her mother, or even one of the other girls that were always around. She'd always find one of them, or one of her girlfriends from past school years or her job that she'd always talk to about Emmett and how they were doing. She would talk to me and her mother mostly, then of course, a few of her other blood relatives. Then there were even days that she'd call me, her mother, or even Emmett's mother and she'd drag us all out to a café or something. When she did, she'd tell us about any future plans the two had talked about.

They really were a cute couple, I won't lie. They weren't perfect- but no couple is perfect.

Emmett had invited us all over to his apartment, but hadn't told us the exact reason why. He told us that there was something important that he wanted to talk to us all about, without Keilah or his parents present. He said that whatever he wanted to talk to us about, he'd already discussed with his parents. He wanted to talk to each family alone, so I guessed that it had to be _really_ important- and probably involved Keilah. I'd be a liar if I said that I wasn't a bit tense or nervous about what he wanted to talk about, considering that she wasn't with us, and how serious they'd gotten in their relationship recently.

Emmett had cooked dinner before we all had arrived, with the help from his wonderful mother. We all sat down together at his table to eat. As we ate, we all just talked, not about anything in particular just yet, just like and current events and such. It was nice. At some points, even KJ and Sky would get partly involved in the conversation- as much as they could, considering they probably had no idea what we were talking about at some points.

After dinner, Mrs. Mathews volunteered to make coffee. Everyone except me took- thee was something about drinking coffee after dinner for dessert that I still didn't quite understand. To be honest, I probably will never understand it, and probably most people who do it don't understand it either. We all sat in the living room, KJ and Sky playing on the couch together between me and Keith.

"So what'd you wanna talk to us about?" Keith asked curiously.

Emmett seemed to grow a bit nervous at the question. "Well," he began and cleared his throat a bit, "The three of you all know how much I love and respect Keilah."

"I can see where this is going," Mrs. Mathews mumbled from beside me with a smile on her face.

Emmett was still a bit nervous. "I wanted to get your permission, as a family, to ask Keilah to marry me."

I saw Mrs. Matthews smile from beside me, obviously happy that he wanted to ask to marry Keilah. She was happy for the two for two reasons most likely; one: he had actually asked permission to marry her and, two: her daughter officially had the possibility of getting married soon and even giving her more grandchildren. She gave an amazed and excited look at him, then let out a chuckle that reminded me of a young private school girl that I'd seen at a sports game once when I was younger.

I looked at Keith, who just looked shocked. It occurred to me that he may have been a bit shocked at the sudden thought of Keilah getting married. That was understandable, considering he'd been her "father figure" and the man of the house since she was two and he was ten. And even if their father had stayed, I know that he'd still be shocked cause he's still her older brother. It was a natural and normal reaction, especially in their position.

Me? I was excited, too- but I'm just an in law. I don't think I had the full value of a vote in this case.

"You want to marry my daughter?" Mrs. Mathews asked with an eager smile.

Emmett let out a nervous chuckle. "Yeah," he answered with an embarrassed smile, "I really love her a lot."

"I think it's great," I smiled reassuringly, "I always had a good feeling 'bout you two. Ever since Keilah first told me 'bout you."

Emmett gave a grateful smile. "Thanks, Rain. That really means a lot."

I gave another smile before look at Keith. "You've been strangely quiet, babe."

Keith looked up at me suddenly. "I have?" he asked dumbly, "Sorry."

Mrs. Mathews and I shared a look. "Can I talk to you?" I asked Keith urgently.

Keith looked at me again and quickly nodded. The two of us got up from our spots on the couch, telling KJ and Sky to stay put. The two of us walked to the bathroom of the apartment- yes, the bathroom, don't ask- shutting the door behind us. I stood facing him, my arms crossed over my chest, my back toward the door. I tried to give a neutral look, which I think came out more of annoyed and expectant look, while he looked at me with slight confusion.

"What's up?" Keith asked.

"What're your thoughts on Emmett askin' Keilah to marry him?" I asked neutrally.

He seemed to get tense. "Well, uh… I don't really know…"

"It's not cause he's black and she's white, I'm hoping?"

"No, of course not. But… it's Keilah! She can't get married! She's only twenty-three!

"I was nineteen when _we_ got married," I tried to reason, "I KJ was born when I was twenty-two."

"Well, yeah," Keith agreed softly, "But you're not my little sister!"

_So that's what it is,_ I thought. "Babe, she's an adult now, no matter how you look at it. Yes, she's always going to be your little sister, but she's an adult. And it's not like Emmett is some Curly or Tim Shepard type, or any of their old outfit. He's a great guy that she deserves to be with. Like I said, she's an adult and can make her own decisions. And another thing: they are both so brave. They've discussed marriage before, so it's not like this is some sudden thing. They're ready for this."

"People won't be nice to them 'bout this."

"They've been together a little over two years now, I think they know what they'd have to deal with. You need to accept the fact that she's not the little baby girl you took charge over when your dad left, and that's she's a responsible young woman. And she's not stupid. Both her and Emmett know what times are like and what they've been. And one last thing, I think you should feel honored that your little sister has a boyfriend as respectful as him who wants to marry her and who I know she wants to marry, and is erspectiful enough to everyone who loves him and her to confirm with all of us about it."

After thinking for a moment, he sighed in defeat. "You're right," he caved.

I smirked playfully. "Of course I am, I'm your wife."

The two of us then left the bathroom and went back to the living room. Mrs. Mathews gave us both questioning looks, and we both nodded in confirmation that everything was ok. KJ and Sky had now moved to the carpet on the floor and glanced up at us. Sky got up and cautiously walked over the Keith, who picked her up and set her on his lap. KJ walked over to me, sat down next to me and leaned against my side. I wrapped my arm around his small body and pulled him closer to me, and he leaned his head down on my lap.

"Everyone alright?" Mrs. Mathews asked.

"We're alright," I confirmed.

Keith took a deep breath then looked at Emmett. "I think it's great you wanna marry Keilah," he saidn genuinely.

Emmett looked at me, and I winked. He smiled knowingly and looked back at Keith. "Thank you," he smiled.

**I apologize for the four week long wait for an update, rather than two week. But I've had a lot of schoolwork these last few weeks, since I just started my senior year. The job I was going to get also feel through, and I didn't start- in fact, I quit my first week, but if you were me and knew all the details, you'd understand why. And it wasn't like I decided on a whim to quit, I got opinions from people who know me well and are very important to me. **

**Anyway, I don't know if I will update in two weeks or four weeks again. My life is kinda hectic at the moment- good hectic- so I'm a bit overwhelmed at the present time. I'm also trying to finish a few stories and start a new one, and try to write something on Episode Interactive (don't judge me) and try to finish a book I'd been writing to get published, plus I volunteered to make story covers for a website that is for writers. So yeah. Not to mention I'll be applying to colleges soon- plus my 17th birthday is this month (September) so yeah. **

**Most likely it'll be in another four weeks.**

**Also, before I finish- Rest in Peace, Gene Wilder. My two favorite roles of yours were as Willy Wonka in the amazing "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" and as Dr Frankenstein in the hilarious "Young Frankenstein". You were a comic genius, a genius of your trade, and a true legend. Your death is grieved by people of all ages and generations, creating some of the best films in comic and film history. Thank you for all you've done throughout the years, and thank you for all the laughs. June 11, 1933 to August 29, 2016.**

**Anyway, hope you liked the chapter, and peace from all the hippies of the world. =^-^=**


	42. May 20, 1978

_**May 20, 1978**_

"So, you're sure that I'll still make my plans tonight with Emmett?" Keilah asked a bit unsurely, "I mean, you know I love KJ and Sky, but I've really been looking forward to my date with Emmett."

I nodded. "Don't worry," I tried to reassure, "Just meet me and your brother at that address at six and you'll make it to meet Emmett at seven, I promise."

"Ok- but only cause Eric couldn't watch them and cause I love my niece and nephew so much."

"Ok, and not me. That's cool. Be that way, Keilah." My tone was teasing and she could thankfully tell.

I had been persistent with Keilah for the last five minutes to watch KJ and Sky for a specific reason. Since Emmett had gotten approval from us and his own own family to propose to Keilah, he decided that he was ready to do it. He'd recruited all of us- me, Keilah, Mrs. Mathews, Eric and his girlfriend Annabella, his mother, his two brothers and even his father- to help get everything ready. He'd invited everyone else- Candy, Soda, Darry, Marilyn, Steve, Evie, Cherry, Ponyboy and all the kids- to come to the engagement party as well. They all volunteered to do something to help out, which was great, considering we could use all the help that we could get.

One of my first tasks was to provide a distraction for Keilah throughout the day. Since we were all pressed for time, I figured that I'd just tell her that Keith had something he had to do at the garage and that I had something important to do for the radio station. That way, I'd have to ask her to watch KJ and Sky since they couldn't be with us for those things. I also told her that Eric couldn't watch them either, due to a "work emergency". She- thankfully- believed my stories, and agreed to watch the two of them for the day.

Emmett had planned a whole elaborate plan on how and where he was going to propose to Keilah. Since her birthday was coming up, they'd decided to celebrate on a Saturday night since neither of them could take off a day from work during the week. He told her they'd be going to a nice restaurant in the next town- when in reality, he had all of us helping him to plan a surprise party for her. He'd even invited some people from their past classes to the party, as to make her happy. Then at the end of the night, when they were cutting her birthday cake, he would propose to her then.

He was killing two birds with one stone.

"Thank you so much, Keilah," I smiled, "I gotta run." I quickly said goodbye to KJ and to Sky, kissing each of their foreheads, then ran out the door.

I quickly got into the car and drove off in the direction of where the party would be held. It was be held under a tent that Emmett had rented, in a park that was also a large field used for weddings and parties a lot. When I got there, the tenet and floor were already set out and people were setting up tables, chairs and other types of decorations. Everyone who was helping to set up was running around doing something, and everyone seemed to be in an absolute hurry, which was understandable.

I quickly tried to locate Emmett and ran over to him once I did. He jumped a bit when I approached him, but he calmed down when he saw it was just me. He gave an apologetic smile at me, and I gave a comforting smile, signifying that it was ok. He looked overwhelmed and completely nervous about the upcoming event of the night, which was understandable if you were one of the people who knew exactly what was going to happen.

"Where's Keilah?" Emmett asked for reference.

"In town with KJ and Sky," I answered surely, "She usually takes them to the park, they get something to eat, and then they usually go back to her place. Based off of what she's told me in the past."

"And you told her to bring them back here?"

"I gave her an address and told her that's where the radio station was havin' me do some stuff. She should be here by six tonight, six-thirty the latest."

"And she doesn't suspect a thing?"

"Not as far as I know," I shrugged.

Emmett let out a breath of relief. "Ok," he said, calming down, "That's good. Thank you, Rain. I do have one more favor to ask of you, though."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Well, seeing that you work as a DJ on the most people radio show in the state, I was hoping that you could pick up the music for the party?"

"Of course," I chuckled, "I'll even run the system tonight. It's not hard at all and I don't mind."

A little while after, after I checked to see if anyone else needed help, I drove down to the radio station. I asked my boss if there was any extra sound equipment that I could borrow for the party. When he confirmed that there was, he helped me carry it all to my car. I then drove off to the record store in town and bought records of musicians that I know Keilah loved- which included a lot of disco music- then drove my house for a few more records, then back to where the party would be. I then set up the equipment such as speaks and a small soundboard and a record player. By the time I'd finished everything, there was an hour and a half left before the party- and it was all already set up.

Keith and I both went home to get ready and to change for the party. I took a shower first, then Keith did. As he did, I dried and combed out my hair. I then went to the closet and pulled out a dress- I figured it was a good enough occasion to wear one for once. The dress had a floral design on its white fabric, and claimed to be a "kimono" style. It was a bit more loose and flowy, going along with the style of clothing of the decade. It reached a little above the floor, and the ends of the sleeves were wide and long.

Once we were ready to go, we left the house and went back to where the party was being held. Once we got there, it was already six o'clock and people had already started to arrive. I turned when I saw KJ, Sky and Mrs. Mathews coming toward us.

Before either me or Keith could speak, Mrs. Mathews did. "I got the two of them from Keilah so she could get ready and changed and then come here," she explained.

Not too much longer after that, Emmett came back with Keilah. When they arrived, we all yelled surprise, which made her scream in shock, then begin to laugh hysterically. She turned to hug hum, then called a grateful "thank you". Everyone then dispersed to their seats, and I joined the crowd after showing KJ and Sky how to turn on the music equipment and the records.

The night progressed on quite nicely. It seemed as if everyone in attendance was having a good time, so I just assume that it was going well. People enjoyed the music that had been playing, the food that had been ordered and catered, and just everything in general as a whole. I could tell that Emmett was both relieved and nervous about the whole thing- and I knew I was right, since his mother had confirmed this hypothesis with me.

Toward the end of the night, everyone had gathered together at the main table for Keilah to cut her birthday cake. There had been a stationary camera in place throughout the party, which was now aimed at her and the cake. As everyone sang "happy birthday", Emmett walked up behind Keilah. As she blew out her candles and everyone cheered, he opened the ring box and held it in front of her just as she turned around. Her hands instantly flew over her mouth in shock as he spoke, and she nodded in response to what he had said to her. He took the ring out and slid it onto her finger, then the two shared a quick kiss and a hug.

I looked over at Keith, who had a weary smile on his face, and I nudged his arm. "You ok there?" I asked.

Keith let out a heavy breath and ran his hands over his face. "Is this how it's gonna feel for Sky?" he asked, almost exasperatedly.

I ran my hand up and down his back in an attempt at comfort. "Yes it will. And I can predict that I'll probably be on her side then, too."

**I'm lucky about the fact that I was actually able to update this. I'm in the process of moving, which is making me behind in some school work, also looking for a job, and studying for my driving test, as well as applying for colleges in the very near future. Not to mention that I've finished writing a story here on fanfiction. Net, but am starting another by the end of December. So yeah. Very stressful.**

**But on the bright side, where we're moving is much better than where we were, and now I'm seventeen instead of sixteen since my birthday passed this month.**

**Anyway, I'll probably update in another four weeks. I apologize. If I update in two weeks, it'll be a miracle. Peace from all the hippies of the world.**


	43. July 28, 1978

_**July 28, 1978**_

I drove up against the curb in front of where Keilah's apartment building was and turned off my car. I got out from the front seat and moved to the back seat, helping KJ and Sky off the seats and onto the concrete ground. I shut the door behind them, stuffed my keys in my pocket, then started to walked toward the entrance of the building. I helped Sky as she walked, since she couldn't walk as well as KJ could just yet. We walked into the building and up to the right floor.

"Hey, Rain," Keilah greeted with a smile when she opened the door, then looked down at KJ and Sky, "And hello, my wonderful niece and nephew."

"Hi, Aunty Kay," KJ smiled brightly and ran to hug his aunt. I smiled as she hugged him and picked him up off the ground.

I followed Keilah into her apartment, Sky holding on tightly to my hand as we walked. When we entered the apartment, she let go of my hand and ran off as best as she could to Mrs. Mathews, falling into her grandmother's lap. Sky let out an ecstatic giggle as this happened, which made everyone in the room give some kind of laugh or smile. KJ leaned over to me, a smile on his face and said, "Sky fell on Grandma." I smiled and nodded at him, "Yes, she did."

Those present in the room was Keilah, KJ and Sky, myself, Mrs. Mathews, Caroline Washington- Emmett's mother- Candy and Elizabeth, Marilyn and Mariah and DT, Evie and Cherry. Eric's girlfriend Annabella was also with us, since we'd all started to get to know her and started to like her. We'd all be helping Keilah pick out a wedding dress, as well as dressed for the rest of us. We'd also all be looking for outfits for the kids that were with us, with the exception of Patrick and Jonathan, who were with Ponyboy and Sodapop.

The large group of us all went to a diner in town first before going to any of the dress shops. We all took a few different cars, since it was absolutely impossible for us all to fir into one vehicle- unless that vehicle was a bus. We'd all follow each other in our cars, forming a small line of cars on the road. IN my car it was me, KJ, Sky, Keilah and Annabella. In Candy's car it was herself, Elizabeth, Cherry and Evie. In Marilyn's car it was herself, DT, Mariah, Mrs. Mathews and Caroline. Since Keilah knew exactly where all the shops were, I drove first, then Marilyn, then Candy.

Once we all arrived at the first store, we all got out of our cars and went inside. Our large group received a few odd looks, which I guess that I could understand slightly. We really were a very large group, but what did all those other people care? We weren't in their group, so why did they all care that there was so many of us?

"So, who's up first?" Keilah asked excitedly once we reached a specific area for wedding parties, "Rain?"

I looked up suddenly. "Oh, uh," I stuttered, "I'll go in a bit. You know how I hate bein' first."

"A radio DJ who's shy," Evie thought aloud, "That's truly ironic."

"That's why I'm in radio and not television- no one can see me on the radio." I smirked in triumph.

I really didn't like going first for most things. Yeah, I know that I'm an adult and I'm married and a mother, but that would always be a bad habit for me. I mean, when it came to my family and their well-being, I'd instinctively go first for things- but other than that, I would never go first. Like I said, that's why I worked in radio and didn't work in television… to be honest, that probably wasn't the _only_ reason, but personally, it was a major reason.

At the dress shop, Mrs. Mathews ended up going first. The order in which everyone chose dress went: Mrs. Mathews, Caroline, Marilyn, Annabella, me, Evie, Cherry then Candy. We had Candy go last since she was a few months pregnant, and by the time that the wedding came around, the dress would probably have had to have been altered at least one or times so that it would fit right.

We took about three hours altogether in the dress shop. The dress I chose looked like a satin or silk fabric that was way softer than it looked. The neckline looked like a mix of a V-neck, then a square M as the neckline wrapped around and under my arms, around the back. The edge of the dress reached just above my ankle, so it didn't matter whether or not I decided to wear heels that night. The straps were not too thin, but not too think either, but rather somewhere perfectly in between. The material was also my favorite color- blue.

"We won't have to worry 'bout you having to get you a bigger dress size, right, Keilah?" Evie asked in a teasing tone of voice.

At first, Keilah seemed unsure of the joking question, then nervous as she let out a nervous chuckle. "Oh, uh, don't worry," she stuttered, "We'll be alright."

"Have you two ever slept together?" Caroline asked as if she was talking to a girlfriend rather than her future daughter in law.

Keilah nodded embarrassedly. "Yeah, we have," she answered awkwardly, "But… we're always careful."

"Maybe we should change the subject," Mrs. Mathews tried a bit desperately, "You know, cause of the kids."

This went unheard. "It's not always full proof, Keilah," Annabella warned.

Keilah seemed irked at this point. "Look, we're fine, ok? Can we just drop it?" She then stormed out of the dress shop and out onto the sidewalk.

I leaned over to Mrs. Mathews and Caroline. "Let's go after her," I said and they nodded, and I asked as we walked out to the door, "What was that about?"

Mrs. Mathews was hesitant. "Keilah can't have children," she answered with a sigh.

Caroline and I both stood in silent shock. Based off of her reaction, she had no idea about this, just like I didn't. I immediately felt quiet sympathy for Keilah. I also felt bad for the fact that, even though I tried to understand how she may have felt about it, I couldn't since me and Keith already had two kids of our own.

"How long has she known?" I asked softly.

Mrs. Mathews thought for a moment. "A little before she turned eighteen," she answered, "She missed her period over six months, so we both agreed to see what was up. When we went to the doctor, they told us that she was barren and she can't have children."

"Does Emmett know?"

As we reached outside, Keilah heard us. "Yeah, he knows," she answered quietly.

"What did he say when you told him?" Caroline asked a bit nervously.

Keilah seemed to calm down a bit. "We talked about it a while back. When I told him, he said that it was ok. That if we ever got married and if we ever wanted kids, we could just adopt. He said that it didn't matter and it shouldn't matter, and that it didn't change anything between us."

The three of us all smiled at what Keilah said that Emmett had said about it when she told him. Out of the three of us, Caroline seemed to be the happiest as his words, which was understandable, considering she is his mother. She would hope that he would have the right morals.

The four of us stood outside for a few more minutes to calm down and clear the air, then went back inside where Keilah chose her wedding dress not long after.

**I'm a day late on updating, oh well. I've been really busy lately. Anyway, next time I update will be in a time range from two weeks to four weeks. The least amount of time I take is two weeks, the most is four. That's just me.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Peace from all the hippies of the world. =^-^=**


	44. September 21, 1978

_**September 21, 1978**_

I shot up from my original lying down position in bed. I let out a slight yell of alarm, then placed my hand over my chest to try and calm my beating heart, and let out a heavy breath. I looked around anxiously and let out a breath of relief when I finally could see what- or more like _who_\- had scared me awake.

KJ and Sky were both on their hands and knees on the surface of the bed, Keith sat on the edge of the bed, laughing hysterically at the entire scene that had just played out in front of him. I wondered if the whole "wake Rain up and scare the living daylights out of her" plan was all his plan at that point. I loosened up a bit, anyway, and let out my own laugh. KJ and Sky had large smiles on their faces, and I couldn't help but smile at their happy faces.

"Happy Birthday, Mama!" KJ grinned, exposing the empty space between two of his bottom teeth, where'd he'd recently lost his first tooth.

"Happy Birthday, Mama," Sky repeated happily, and held out a sunflower in front of her.

I gently took the flower with a smile, then opened my arms wide. "Come here, you two," I smiled. The two both rushed across the bed and against me into my arms, and I hugged them tight to my torso, making sure to make a mental note of how this felt for the future.

Keith stood up from his spot on the edge of the bed, then next to me. He leaned over and planted a small kiss on my right temple. I gave a small smile as he said, "Happy Birthday."

I personally never got excited about my birthday. It wasn't that I didn't like it or anything, I just never really saw the point in making a big deal about it. It just wasn't my thing. Sure, I cared a great deal about other people's birthdays, just not my own. Like I said, my own birthday was never a big concern to me. And ever since I got married and had kids, I didn't have time to care about my own birthday, but rather just focused on all of their birthdays.

But I'd be a liar if I said I didn't appreciate those little birthday things they'd do.

"Well," I yawned once my heart was beating normally again, "That's a way to wake up, huh?"

"I'd say so," Keith agreed with a laugh.

I looked over at the clock and my eyes widened for a moment when I saw that it said 6:50am. "Did you wake them up?"

"I was already awake," KJ cleared up, "And Sky woke up by herself."

"Alright," I breathed out, "Well, since it's early, and it's Thursday, two of us have work, one of you has school, and one of you has to go to Grandma till I leave work."

"The flower," Sky reminded me, pointing to the single sunflower that laid on my bedside table.

I looked over at the flower, then back at Sky as I picked it up. "We can all go down to the kitchen, and when we get there, we'll get some water for the flower. How's that sound?" She nodded happily at my idea, and I gave a small smile.

Both KJ and Sky got up off the bed, then me and Keith. KJ and Sky ran out of the bedroom together and in the direction of the kitchen, Sky doing her very best to keep up with her big brother. I took the flower gently in my left hand as they ran out and got up from the bed. I started toward the exit of the room after the kids but stopped and jumped up a bit when I felt a hand grab a hold of mine and pull me back. I let out a slightly alarmed yelp when I was spun around once, then collided against Keith's torso, his arms around my snugly.

"What in the world was that 'bout?" I chuckled.

"I didn't want KJ and Sky to see," Keith shrugged.

Before I could question, he pulled me right up against him and pressed his lips onto mine. I didn't hesitant to kiss back, and my arms instinctively moved around his neck, my elbows rested on his shoulders. I started to lean back a bit carelessly, and he moved forward with me, then we moved back up to our original standing up positions. We finally pulled apart from each other, but our heads and faces were still close to each other.

"What was that for?" I breathed out.

"Happy Birthday, Rain," Keith smiled.

I smiled back. "Just to make sure, you do know how old I am, don't ya?"

"Twenty-nine."

I let out a slight groan. "I feel old. I don't like feelin' old at twenty-nine."

"C'mon, Rain," Keith tried, "You're not old. Time just flew by, that's all."

"Do you feel old sometimes?" I asked curiously.

He shrugged. "Once in a while, sure."

I really did feel old. It didn't always occur to me that I was an adult. To be honest, it all felt like a dream sometimes. At some points, I'd get a bit anxious and nervous that it was all a dream, and that I'd wake up and be thirteen or fourteen again, still living with my parents. I'd get scared that all the people I cared about and loved- especially Keith, KJ and Sky- would all have just been a dream, and I'd be left heart broken. Did it make me seem negative? Yeah, probably. But I couldn't help it.

The rest of the day kinda flew by. Both Keith and I went to work, KJ went to school, and Sky went with Mrs. Mathews till I left the radio station to get her. All throughout the day, I received birthday wishes from people I knew all too well. What I found funny was that, at some point during the morning radio show, we got a call- which wasn't unusual. What was funny was that I figured out that the call came from Sandy's bookstore. After we greeted the caller, I could hear four familiar voices yell, "Happy Birthday, Rain!" When I asked to confirm that it was Marilyn, Cherry, Evie and Candy at the bookstore, they all began to laugh and didn't deny their action, and were completely proud of it.

After leaving the radio station, I just acted like it was a regular day. It's not that I was just ignoring the fact that it was my birthday, I just didn't particularly care. I just went about my business as usual as if it were a regular day. I saw no problem with it, personally.

Later that day, after I picked KJ up from school, Sky from Mrs. Mathews and finished all my errands, I went home. When we got back to the house, Keilah and Emmett were in the living room, waiting. I gave them a questioning look as KJ and Sky ran to greet their aunt and soon-to-be uncle. They both wished me a happy birthday, despite me still being confused- but not disappointed- by their surprise appearance.

"What're you two doing here?" I asked curiously.

Keilah picked up Sky while KJ played around with Emmett. "KJ and Sky are with us for the night," she answered, "MY brother wanted you all to himself tonight, he said. He told me to tell you to be ready to go by 6:30."

Before I could as the two anything, they had KJ and Sky ready to go. The four all left, leaving me standing alone in the living room. I ran my hands over my face as I took a deep breath, then walked to my bedroom in defeat. I had no idea how to dress right now, so I just put on a nice pair of comfortable jeans and a button up blouse with the sleeves rolled up. I combed out my hair, put on a pair of boots, and grabbed an old but warm leather jacket.

By the time I finished getting ready, Keith walked into the bedroom, not dressed too differently than I currently was. I turned to him and we smiled at each other. A few minutes later, the two of us left the house.

Apparently, when he did for my birthday was that we just went out and had fun. What we did were things that a couple who was still dating would probably go out and do. We went all over the city, doing and trying things we either hadn't done in a while, or had never even tried. In all honesty, it felt great to do things like that again. It'd been a long time since we'd gotten a chance to do anything like that, so it was a nice thing to do for once with just the two of us.

At some point, we just walked through the city together. I stopped walking and looked over at Keith. He gave me a questioning look as he asked, "Somethin' up?"

I shook my head carelessly. "Nope," I answered then gave a serious look, "I just wanna say thank you for everythin'."

"For today?"

"No, I mean for _everything._"

He understood what I meant, and just smiled down at me. "Happy birthday, Rain."

**There's only one more chapter in this story, and it's technically an epilogue. I cut this story short, one: cause if I let it continue, it would take too long. two: I didn't like how this story was coming out, and when a writer doesn't like a story they're writing, the writing is not their best work, so everyone loses. So yeah, there's one chapter left- the epilogue, and a family tree guide of the original story characters, their kids, and their kids. Three generations will be seen.**

**That final chapter will be up somewhere in between two to four weeks. Peace from all the hippies of the world.**


	45. December 25, 1998 and Epilogue

_**December 25, 1998. 20 years later. Christmas.**_

Keith and I walked up to the familiar house and rang the doorbell. As soon as the doorbell rang through the house, we could the dog yapping away as she ran to the front door. I couldn't tell if the miniature dachshund could tell it was us, or if she was just excited that there was something or someone on the other side of the door. The two of us let out amused laughs at the dogs as we continued to wait for the door to open.

About a minute later the door swung open, revealing Mariah. She smiled an excited and greetings mile as she quickly hugged the two of us and let us inside the house. Jazzy, their miniature dachshund followed behind us excitedly, her tail wagging so much that it could make someone dizzy if they tried to follow it. Once we all walked in, we could see that Darry and Mariah had already gotten to the house.

As the years went by, Christmas traditions changed as our group all grew. Other family members started new traditions and events for the holidays. We all got together as often as we could, taking advantage of the fact that all our kids were friends- and some of them even related in one way or another- as they all grew up. That was definitely a help and a factor for all of us to stay together. There was also the fact that a few of the kids had started to date each other, and even get married- like KJ and Mariah did- as they got older.

Once everyone was inside, we all exchanged warm greetings with one another. It was only the six of us this year, since everyone else was temporarily dispersed for the holiday season. It was KJ and Mariah who invited the four of us and just the four of us over. They'd never done that before since they got married in 1996. They always invited the four of us, obviously, but they always tried to have as many people over as physically possible, so it was a bit weird.

"So, I have to ask," Marilyn began, "How come it's only the three of us?"

KJ and Mariah looked confused. "What do you mean?" Mariah asked.

"Well you guys just invited the four of us," I pointed out.

"No one else could make it," KJ shrugged nonchalantly.

Keith gave a suspicious look. "Oh really?" he tried, unconvinced.

KJ just nodded, but looked unsure to me. "We tried everyone. They're all doin' their own things this year."

We all decided to just give up for the moment and take their word for it. It was obvious that the two were hiding _something_ from us- but we weren't exactly sure what it was just yet. I shared a look with Marilyn that said: _We gotta figure out what it is before the nights over._ Honestly, I don't know if Keith and Darry caught this look between us, but I know they had the same thing in mind, based off of the facial expressions that they were wearing.

When KJ and Mariah left the room, the four of us got together and spoke quietly so they couldn't hear us from the other room.

"Something is goin' on with the two of them," Darry announced quietly.

"KJ's lying," I stated, "He didn't look at me when he was talking. He looked past me. He always did that when he was hiding something from me."

"What do you think they're hidin' from us?" Keith wondered aloud.

Marilyn shrugged. "Could be anything," she answered, "The question is: is it something they're gonna tell us or not?

KJ and Mariah re-entered the room, both carrying a carefully wrapped box- one in her hands, the other in his hand. The four of us quickly stopped talking and looked up at the two with confused looks on our faces. They sat back down with us, both with eager smiles on their faces.

"Cause you four are _so _impatient," Mariah chuckled, "We decided that we'd give you your gifts now."

"They're nothin' fancy," KJ clarified, "And they're one of those _couple's gifts _things. But we know you'll all like them."

KJ handed Keith and me the petite box, and Mariah handed hers to Darry and Marilyn. As the four of us began to open the boxes, KJ wrapped his left arm- his only arm after losing his right arm in battle while he was in the military- to hold Mariah closer to him. They both watched us closely and eagerly until the gifts were both unwrapped and revealed. In Darry and Marilyn's box was a pink knit square with a patch that read "Persephone Rose Mathews", and in ours was a similar patch but instead was blue and read "Arthur Keith Mathews".

"I don't get it," Keith said hesitantly, and I nodded in agreement.

Marilyn gasped in sudden realization. "I think I do," she said, looking up at her daughter with a smile.

"Then can you explain it to me, babe?" Darry asked confusedly, "Cause I'm still in the dark here."

Mariah chuckled as she rolled her eyes. "It's a name, Dad," she informed.

"They both are," KJ added.

Mariah nodded. "Persephone Rose is the name we chose if it's a girl, and Arthur Keith if it's a boy."

It took a minute for the three of us to finally comprehend what they were trying to tell us.

Darry looked the most shocked, but still happy for his little girl. "You're sayin' that you're…"

Keith tried to finish. "You two are gonna be…"

"You're pregnant," I finally got out, half stating, half questioning.

"Yeah," Mariah breathed out happily, "I'm pregnant. I'm just at nine weeks."

"Merry Christmas!" KJ laughed.

"I'm just curious," Keith started, "Where'd you get the names?"

"From _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_ series."

That next year, in the first week of September, the first of the third generation of all of our families was born, and named Persephone "Percy" Rose Mathews.

-/-/-

**Family trees.**

_Keith "Two-Bit" Mathews Sr. and Raina "Rain" Johnson Mathews, married 1969._

Keith "KJ" Mathews Jr., born 1972.

Skylar "Sky" Keilah Mathews, born 1976.

Andrew "Drew" Michael Mathews," born 1980.

_Sodapop Patrick Curtis and Candice "Candy" Ramos Curtis, married 1974._

Patrick Michael Curtis, born 1975.

Elizabeth "Lizzie" Michaela Curtis, born 1975.

Katharine "Kitty" Candice Curtis, born 1978.

_Darrel Shaynne Curtis Jr. and Marilyn Davis Curtis, married 1970._

Mariah "Maya" Curtis, born 1972.

Darrel "DT" Shaynne Curtis III, born 1974.

_Steve Randle and Evelyn "Evie" Williams Randle, married 1980._

Rachel Evelyn Randle, born 1982.

Stacy Esther Randle, born 1987.

_Ponyboy Michael Curtis and Sherri "Cherry" Valance Curtis, married 1977._

Jonathan Ponyboy Curtis, born 1978.

Dallas "DC" Cooper Curtis, born 1979.

Beth Marcia Curtis, born 1981.

_Emmett Washington and Keilah Mathews Washington, married 1979._

Greyson "Grey" William Washington, born and adopted in 1981.

Taylor Julia Washington, born and adopted in 1983.

Miracle "Myra" Natalie Washington, born in 1984.

Lucas Randall Washington, born and adopted in 1988.

_Eric Johnson and Annabella Oleksy Johnson, married 1981._

Nicholas Halbrook Johnson, born 1986.

Bella Holly Johnson, born 1992.

-/-/-

_Keith "KJ" Mathews Jr. and Mariah "Maya" Rose Curtis,_ _married 1996._

Persephone "Percy" Rose Mathews, born 1999.

Gwenyvere "Gwen" Lily Mathews, born 2000.

Dorian Keith Mathews, born 2003.

Fenchurch Daisy Mathews, born 2005.

_Patrick Michael Curtis and Skylar "Sky" Keilah Mathews, married 1998._

Dwayne Lee Curtis, born 1999.

_Greyson "Grey" William Washington and Rachel Evelyn Randle, married 2012._

Rebecca Nicole Randle-Washington, born 2000 and adopted by Greyson in 2012.

Robert "Rob" Greyson Washington, born 2014.

Renee Taylor Washington, born 2016.

_Andrew "Drew" Michael Mathews and Anna Crawford, married 2005._

Julie Nathalia Mathews, born 2008.

John David Mathews, born 2010.

_Darrel "DT" Shaynne Curtis III and Milly Teeger, married 2000._

Darrel Shaynne Curtis IV, born 2005.

Layla Milicent Curtis, born 2010.

_Lucas Randall Washington and Stacy Esther Randle, married 2011._

Adriana Nicole Washington, born 2015.

Nathaniel "Nathan" Daniel Washington, born 2016.

_Elizabeth "Lizzie" Michaela Curtis and Elijah Nyland, married 1999._

Wilson Elijah Nyland, born 2004.

Gabriel Andrew Nyland, born 2004.

Brandon Michael Nyland, born 2007.

_Katharine "Kitty" Candice Curtis and Oliver Whitley, married 2007._

Thomas "Tommy" Oliver Whitley, born 2008.

Noah Russel Whitley, born 2012.

Chrissie Leah Whitley, born 2014.

_Dallas "DC" Cooper Curtis and Georgia DeOliviera, married 2006._

Jackson Conrad Curtis, born 2011.

Brooklyn Charlotte Curtis, born 2011.

Sydney Carolyn Curtis, born 2014.

Austin Caleb Curtis, born 2017.

_Jonathan Ponyboy Curtis and Delilah McClanahan, married 2006._

Zoey Nicole Curtis, born 2012.

Benjamin "Benjy" Jonathan Curtis, born 2014.

Deborah Abigail Curtis, born 2015.

Savannah Avery Curtis, born 2015.

_Taylor Julia Washington and Jonah Erickson, married 2012._

Charlotte Genesis Erickson, born 2014.

_Beth Marcia Curtis and Alan Robertson, married 2006._

Alexander "Alex" Brandon Curtis, born and adopted 2009.

Andrea "Andi" Bethany Curtis, born 2010.

Angus Bryce Curtis, born 2013.

Anthony "Tony" Barry Curtis, born in 2015, adopted in 2016.

_Nicholas Halbrook Johnson and Susanna Scelfo, married 2016._

Grace Annabella Johnson, born 2017.

Madeline "Maddie" Raina Johnson, born 2017.

Clarissa Susanna Johnson, born 2017.

Dustin Eric Johnson, born 2021.

Russel Nicholas Johnson, born 2021.

_Bella Holly Johnson and Jacob Havilland, married 2015._

Rowland Kevin Havilland, born 2020.

Bridgit Raquel Havilland, born 2025.

Sadie Isabella Havilland, born 2025.

-/-/-

"I had to accept that everything and everyone around me was changing, whether whatever changed was a good thing or bad thing."

-/-/-

"I've seen how you two are when you're together, Rain. Your faces light up like Soda's would when he was with Sandy. You even get pink in your cheek sometimes when he makes you smile."

-/-/-

At some point, we just walked through the city together. I stopped walking and looked over at Keith. He gave me a questioning look as he asked, "Somethin' up?"

I shook my head carelessly. "Nope," I answered then gave a serious look, "I just wanna say thank you for everythin'."

"For today?"

"No, I mean for everything."

_**The End.**_

**This is the end of the Rain Johnson trilogy. Thank you to those who read "Before the Love", "To Love A Greaser" and finally, "The Power of Love". I hope you enjoyed it all.**

**If you want to read anymore Outsiders fanfictions by me (which are all better), here is the list of stories you can read:**

_**Cherry Flavored Soda **_**(almost complete)**

_**Loyalty**_** (Completed)**

_**A Mother's Love**_** (one-shot)**

_**Who Won?**_** (one-shot)**

**And the upcoming story in January 2017, spin off from **_**Loyalty**_**… **_**Layla.**_

**Thank you, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Hanukkah, or whatever else you celebrate, and peace from all the hippies of the world. =^-^=**


End file.
